Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 359 (Collier's Reel)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel32AABBD Mixolydian
Transcription of first 2 bars of Collier's Reel
 about these two bars

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording LR 1 (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Collier's Reel, The / The Colliers' Reel / The Colliers Reel / The Colliers / Colliers / Ríl Collier / Why She Couldn't Drink Her Tea (3rd in The Colliers' Set on CTL 8; 2nd in set Lucy Campbell on JnKlly and only 1st part appears there) (also in G) (compare My Love Is in America #1391)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd Discography

Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.

Year
Recorded
Track
#Tune
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
194412#1[LR 1] Leo Rowsome. Classics of Irish Piping. Leo Rowsome (pipes).View album details
~195612#1[Rnys] The Raineys. The Raineys. Paddy Rainey (fiddle), Stephen Rainey (fiddle), Bridie 'Biddy' Rainey (vocals).View album details
197527(1:18)#2[JnKlly] John Kelly. Irish Traditional Concertina and Fiddle Music. John Kelly (concertina, fiddle).View album details
~19859#1[TP 8] Tommy Peoples. Waiting for a Call. Tommy Peoples (fiddle).View album details
~19881#2[SWW] Ronan Browne and Peter O'Loughlin. The South West Wind. Traditional Music from County Clare. Ronan Browne (pipes), Peter O'Loughlin (fiddle).View album details
~198810#3[SCnly 1] Séamus Connolly. Notes from My Mind. Séamus Connolly (fiddle).View album details
~19904#1[DMa] Declan Masterson. Deireadh an Fhómhair. End of the Harvest. Declan Masterson (pipes, whistle).View album details
19926#1[MH 1] Martin Hayes. Martin Hayes. Martin Hayes (fiddle).View album details
19931#2[MoD] Tony Mac Mahon, Noel Hill, Iarla Ó Lionáird. Music of Dreams. Tony Mac Mahon (accordion), Noel Hill (concertina), Iarla Ó Lionáird (vocals).View album details
20009#3[CTL 8] Cherish the Ladies. The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone. Joanie Madden (whistle, flute, vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo, mandolin), Donna Long (piano, keyboards, vocals), Mary Rafferty (accordion, concertina, whistle), Deirdre Connolly (vocals, whistle, flute), Liz Knowles (fiddle).View album details
20011#2[TC] various. Turas Cheoil. A Musical Odyssey: A compilation of music from the traditional musicians of Toronto. View album details
20015#1[KlmFcy] Catherine McEvoy and John McEvoy. The Kilmore Fancy. Catherine McEvoy (flute), John McEvoy (fiddle).View album details
~20021#1[JFtg] Joe Fitzgerald. Hills of Clare. Joe Fitzgerald (accordion).View album details
~20045#1[MRaf] Mike Rafferty. Speed 78. Mike Rafferty (flute, pipes).View album details
~20041#2[JK 4] James Kelly. Melodic Journeys. James Kelly (fiddle).View album details

Bibliography

Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

As tune #1404 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #646 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #37 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. [available]
On page 132 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
On page 28 of [TP] Tommy Peoples. Fifty Irish Fiddle Tunes. [available]
In [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 14 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As tune #128 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. [available]

If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903