Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#43 (Abbey Reel)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | A Dorian |
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 PitS (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Abbey Reel, The / The Abbey / Abbey Rule [sic] / The Moher Reel / The Pullet / The American Reel / Touhey's Favorite / Drag Her Around the Road / Reddigan's Reel / The Irish-American / Man of the House (3rd in set The Cappataggle Shuffle on SGMM; note mistake in track numbering on FDys) (also in G or E, also 1st part doubled)
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.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | 19#1 | [BFair] various. Ballinasloe Fair. Early Recordings of Irish Music in America. |
| 1967 | 17#1 | [PitS] various. Paddy in the Smoke. Martin Byrnes (fiddle), Danny Meehan (fiddle), Bobby Casey (fiddle), Tony McMahon (accordion), Andy Boyle (fiddle), Jimmy Power (fiddle), Jimmy Dunleavy (fiddle), Sean O'Shea (fiddle), Con Curtin (fiddle), Denis McMahon (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle), Tommy Maguire (accordion), Father O'Keeffe (mandolin), Lucy Farr (fiddle), Edmond Murphy (fiddle). |
| 1968 | 20#3 | [PitS] various. Paddy in the Smoke. Martin Byrnes (fiddle), Danny Meehan (fiddle), Bobby Casey (fiddle), Tony McMahon (accordion), Andy Boyle (fiddle), Jimmy Power (fiddle), Jimmy Dunleavy (fiddle), Sean O'Shea (fiddle), Con Curtin (fiddle), Denis McMahon (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle), Tommy Maguire (accordion), Father O'Keeffe (mandolin), Lucy Farr (fiddle), Edmond Murphy (fiddle). |
| ~1968 | 19#1 | [ItS] various. In the Smoke. |
| 1976 | 5#2 | [JCC] Jack and Charlie Coen. The Branch Line. Jack Coen (flute), Charlie Coen (concertina). |
| ~1976 | 1#2 | [SotC] Armagh Pipers Club. Armagh Pipers' Club [Song of the Chanter]. Disc 10 of Celtic Souls. Irish Celtic Ballads & Traditional Music. Paul Davis (concertina, flutes, harmonica), Eithne Vallelly (fiddle), Pat Daly (harp), Brian Vallelly (pipes, whistle, flute), Niall Vallelly (bodhran). |
| ~1976 | 2.6#2 | [FTIM] various. Festival of Traditional Irish [Music]. Discs 7 and 8 of Celtic Souls. Irish Celtic Ballads & Traditional Music. |
| ~1982 | 1#3 | [KB Pt] Kevin Burke and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill. Portland. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (vocals, guitar, harmonium). |
| ~1982 | 1.2#3 | [GL20] various. Green Linnet Records. The Twentieth Anniversary Collection. |
| ~1988 | 1#2 | [LC 2] Liz Carroll. Liz Carroll. Liz Carroll (fiddle). |
| ~1992 | 4#3 | [CTL 3] Cherish the Ladies. The Back Door. Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo), Siobhan Egan (fiddle, bodhrán), Eileen Golden (feet), Winifred Horan (fiddle, feet), Maureen Doherty Macken [Mary Rafferty] (accordion, flute), Joanie Madden (flute, whistle), Cathie Ryan (vocals), Linnane Wick (feet). |
| ~1995 | 11#2 | [KC 1] Kevin Crawford. 'D' Flute Album. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhrán). |
| 1996 | 10#1 | [AW] Paddy Reynolds, Charlie Mulvihill, James Keane, with Felix Dolan. Atlantic Wave. Paddy Reynolds (fiddle), Charlie Mulvihill (accordion), James Keane (accordion). |
| ~1997 | 1#3 | [GL1] various. The Dance Music of Ireland. Jigs and Reels. |
| ~1997 | 1#3 | [NaCnn 1] Na Connerys. Celtic Sessions. Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Kevin Glackin (fiddle), Sean Og Potts (pipes, whistle), John Regan (accordion), John Wynne (flute), Tom McDonagh (bouzouki), Mark Kelly (guitar). |
| 1998 | 12#2 | [Lgcy] Legacy. Navan. Don Penzien (guitar, vocals, whistle), Valerie Plested (fiddle), Beth Patterson (bouzouki, vocals), Justin Murphy (flute, whistle). |
| ~1999 | 10#4 | [Lu 2] Lúnasa. Otherworld. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Smyth (fiddle, whistle, viola), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass, cello), Donogh Hennessy (guitar). |
| 2001 | 4#3 | [FDys] Davy Spillane and Kevin Glackin. Forgotten Days. Davy Spillane (pipes, whistle), Kevin Glackin (fiddle). |
| 2003 | 1#3 | [CSmth] Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Coyotebanjo. Chris Smith (banjo, mandola, mandolin, field organ), Roger Landes (bouzouki), Randal Bays (fiddle). |
| ~2004 | 10#2 | [MRaf] Mike Rafferty. Speed 78. Mike Rafferty (flute, pipes). |
| ~2004 | 1.6#1 | [WFO 3] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 3. |
| 2005 | 1#3 | [SGMM] Shannon, Gavin, McGoldrick and Murray. Tunes. Sharon Shannon (accordion), Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Michael McGoldrick (flute, whistle), Jim Murray (guitar). |
| ~2005 | 3#2 | [MMhn] Martin Meehan. Three's Company. Martin Meehan (flute, bodhrán). |
| 2006 | 1#3 | [TCB 4] The Tulla Céilí Band. 60th Anniversary Celebration. Mark Donnellan (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Jim Corry (piano), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), J.J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Martin Glynn (flute), Mick Flanagan (drums). |
| ~2007 | 9#2 | [CMcN] Christy McNamara. The House I Was Reared In. Christy McNamara (accordion, concertina, vocals). |
| ~2007 | 12#2 | [CMcN] Christy McNamara. The House I Was Reared In. Christy McNamara (accordion, concertina, vocals). |
| ~2008 | 7#2 | [Sol 10] Solas. For Love and Laughter. Seamus Egan (flute, banjo, guitar, whistle, mandolin, bodhrán, percussion), Winifred Horan (fiddle, viola, vocals), Mick McAuley (accordion, guitar, vocals), Eamon McElholm (guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals), Mairéad Phelan (vocals). |
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 #22 in volume 2 of [LPTW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. |
| On page 51 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 86 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #1 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #237 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. |
| As tune #45 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. |
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): 1928