| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | D Major |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording IDM 2 (details in the Discography below).
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | 8#1 | [IDM 2] various. Past Masters of Irish Dance Music. |
| 1940 | 6#3 | [SE 6] Séamus Ennis. The Return from Fingal. Séamus Ennis (pipes, vocals). |
| ~1973 | 1#2 | [SE 2] Seamus Ennis. The Pure Drop. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| ~1974 | 7#1 | [KCB 3] [The Kilfenora Ceili Band]. [The Kilfenora Céilí Band]. |
| ~1979 | 1#1 | [BMu 1] Brendan Mulvihill, accompanied by Mick Moloney. The Flax in Bloom. Traditional Irish Music. Brendan Mulvihill (fiddle), Mick Moloney (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin). |
| ~1984 | 10#2 | [KB UC] Kevin Burke. Up Close. Kevin Burke (fiddle). |
| ~1986 | 2.2#1 | [RtH] various. Round the House. Music for the Sets - Vol. 1. Séamus Meehan (piano accordion), Paul O'Shaughnessy (fiddle), Neillidh Mulligan (pipes), Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich (accordion), Gerry Bevan (fiddle). |
| ~1995 | 16#2 | [MMR 1] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Dangerous Reel. Mike Rafferty (flute, whistle, pipes), Mary Rafferty (accordion, flute, whistle). |
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 #1389 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #633 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #284 in volume 2 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #20 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| On page 130 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As reel #34 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #18 in [DM 3] Dave Mallinson. 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes. |
| As reel #101 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As reel #77 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. |
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?