Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#528 (Donegal Reel)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 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 TDMI (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Donegal Reel, The / The Donegal / Donegal / The Donegall Reel / Ríl Dhún na nGall / The Donegall / Antrim Reel / Úna Bean Uí Chuinneagáin / Una Bhain Ní Chuinneagain / Ríl Thír Chonaill (for Sixteen Hand Reel in book MM) (compare 1st part with 1st part of The Fantastic Reel #602)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1952 | 20#3 | [TDMI] various. Traditional Dance Music of Ireland. |
| 1974 | 26#1 | [JD 3] John Doherty. The Celebrated Recordings. John Doherty (fiddle, vocals). |
| ~1974 | 10#2 | [KCB 3] [The Kilfenora Ceili Band]. [The Kilfenora Céilí Band]. |
| ~1977 | 12#1 | [SE 4] Séamus Ennis. Forty Years of Irish Piping. Seamus Ennis (pipes except where whistle or vocals noted). |
| ~1993 | 10#3 | [SSt] various. The Sound of Stone. Artists for Mullaghmore. |
| ~1993 | 17#2 | [JCnly] Johnny Connolly. An tOileán Aerach. Johnny Connolly (accordion). |
| ~2002 | 4#1 | [Fns] Feenish. Rabharta. P.J. Hernon (accordion), Marcus Hernon (flute, whistle), Don Stiffe (vocals, guitar, whistle). |
| ~2002 | 1.3#2 | [MSCB] Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton (accordion), Caroline Tubridy (fiddle), Pat Curtin (flute), Brian Morgan (flute), Ralph Morgan (banjo), George Byrt (piano), Martin Garrihy (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 #66 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." |
| On page 16 of [LPUP] Eithne and Brian Vallely. Learn to Play the Uilleann Pipes. |
| As misc #41 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| On page 17 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 17 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On pages 22-23 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #65 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #6 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. |
| On page 63 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
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): 1952