Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#607 (Farewell to Ireland)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MC (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | D Major |
Farewell to Ireland / Slán le hÉireann / Slan le hEireann / Farewell to Erin / Naughton's / Naughtons / Leitrim Thrush / The Maid in the Cherry Tree (composed by Michael Coleman?)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2.23#1 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| 1980 | 8#3 | [FtE] Dolores Keane and John Faulkner with Eamonn Curran. Farewell to Erin (Farewell to Éirinn). Instruments not specified: Dolores Keane (vocals, etc.), John Faulkner (vocals, etc.), Eamonn Curran (pipes, etc.). For this tune: (pipes), (fiddle), (whistle). |
| 1983 | 12#3 | [FG 2] Frankie Gavin. Croch Suas É. Up and Away. Frankie Gavin (flute, fiddle, whistle, accordion). For this tune: (fiddle, flute, accordion). |
| ~1985 | 7#2 | [CW] Matt Molloy and Sean Keane. Contentment Is Wealth. Matt Molloy (flute), Sean Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1991 | 19#1 | [MV] Maiden Voyage. Live Traditional Irish Music Session from Pepper's Bar, Feakle, Co. Clare. Tommy Peoples (fiddle), Siobhán Peoples (fiddle), Andrew McNamara (accordion), Kevin Crawford (flute), P.J. King (accordion), Páraic Mac Donnchadha (banjo), Pat Marsh (bouzouki), Joe Bane (whistle), John Maloney (bodhrán), Séan Mac Donnchadha (vocals). |
| 1992 | 12#1 | [JRyan] Joe Ryan. An Buachaill Dreoite. Joe Ryan (fiddle). |
| ~1993 | 12#2 | [JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion). |
| ~1996 | 10#1 | [JCt 2] John Carty. Last Night's Fun. John Carty (fiddle, banjo, flute). |
| ~1996 | 6#1 | [JK 3] James Kelly. Traditional Irish Music. James Kelly (fiddle). |
| ~1996 | 12#1 | [ST ES] Seamus Tansey. Easter Snow. Seamus Tansey (flute). |
| ~2003 | 2#1 | [MMlvy] Mick Mulvey. Within a Mile o' Jamestown. Mick Mulvey (flute). For this tune: (Eb flute). |
| 2013 | 6#3 | [CFF 6] The Celtic Fiddle Festival. Live in Brittany. André Brunet (fiddle, feet), Kevin Burke (fiddle), Christian Lemaître (fiddle), Nicolas Quémener (guitar). For this tune: Kevin (fiddle). |
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 #139 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| As tune #27 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. |
| As reel #90 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
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): 1921