Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#593 (Fairy Dance)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording JD 3 (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | D Major |
Fairy Dance, The / Fairy Dance / The Fairy Reel / The Haymakers / Haymakers / Daunse ny Farishyn / Largo's Fairy Dance / Fisher Laddie / The Jolly Banger / Old Molly Hare / Quick Scotch (2nd in set Drowsey Maggie on Ch 4) (also in A or G, also in American music with reversed parts as Old Molly Hare, included here in book FF) (compare Fairy Reel #597; compare 2nd part with 2nd part of An Buailteoir Aerach #6004; compare distantly with parts of #2292)
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.
Click 
to hear the first 12 seconds.
to hear the first 12 seconds.| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Performers (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 18#1 | [OTPR] Oldtime Records. Vol. 3. Piping Rarities. Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band: Daniel J. Murphy (pipes),Michael C. Hanafin (fiddle), Thomas Ryan (fiddle), Daniel P. Moroney (piccolo). |
| ~1973 | 1#2 (0:33) | [Ch 4] The Chieftains. 4. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones). For this tune: Paddy Moloney (pipes). |
| 1974 | 23#2 | [JD 3] John Doherty. The Celebrated Recordings. John Doherty (fiddle, vocals). |
| 1998 | 7#6 (6:14) | [CFF 2] Kevin Burke / Johnny Cunningham / Christian Lemaître / Soïg Siberil. Celtic Fiddle Festival Encore. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Johnny Cunningham (fiddle), Christian Lemaître (fiddle), Soïg Siberil (guitar). |
| 2003 | 5#1 | [Dnu 4] Danú. The Road Less Travelled. Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (vocals, flute, whistle), Benny McCarthy (accordion), Donnchadh Gough (bodhrán, pipes), Oisin McAuley (fiddle, vocals), Tom Doorley (flute, whistle, vocals), Eamon Doorley (bouzouki), Donal Clancy (guitar). |
| ~2003 | 6#2 | [KLO] Mick O'Brien agus Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Kitty Lie Over. Mick O'Brien (pipes, whistle), Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fiddle, whistle). For this tune: (B whistle), (B whistle). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune 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 #986 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| On page 51 of [RW] Robin Williamson. The Penny Whistle Book. |
| On page 100 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| On page 207 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| As tune #16 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): 1907