Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#487 (Denis Murphy's Polka)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polka | 32 | AABB | D Major |
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 Plx 4 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Denis Murphy's Polka / Dennis Murphy's Polka / Dennis Murphy's / Casey's / Kitty Molloy's Favourite / Sweeney's (2nd in set Casey's on MC; 2nd in set Scartaglen Polkas on ESL 1; 2nd in set Selection 2 on GCB 2)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1924 | 1.17#2 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| 1969 | 13#2 | [Ch 2] The Chieftains. 2. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones), Seán Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1979 | 11#1 | [Plx 4] Planxty. Collection. Unidentified on this reissue. |
| ~1998 | 1.1#2 | [ESL 1] various. An Evening in Sliabh Luachra. Volume One. A Collection of Traditional Music and Song from the Sliabh Luachra Area. |
| 2001 | 17#1 | [PHCB] Public House Ceili Band. Go Figure. Dan Cobb (banjo), Dave Delgado (whistle), Alan Ng (fiddle), Bob Newton (octave mandolin). |
| ~2004 | 9#3 | [JK 4] James Kelly. Melodic Journeys. James Kelly (fiddle). |
| ~2007 | 20#2 | [GCB 2] The Glenside. Take the Floor with The Glenside. Tom Flood (accordion), Johnny Duffy (banjo), Moyra Fraser (keyboard, vocals), Aidan Flood (drums). |
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 #70 in volume 2 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols. |
| As tune #42 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| On page 85 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| As tune #70 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. |
| On page 228 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As polka #36 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #61 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. |
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): 1924