| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | D Mixolydian |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording Ch B (song) (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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1.2#1 | [SltSdt] various. Seoltaí Séidte. Setting Sail. |
| ~1979 | 10#3 | [Ch B] The Chieftains. 9. Boil the Breakfast Early. Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Martin Fay (fiddle, bones), Derek Bell (harp, tiompán), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle). |
| ~1989 | 1.2#2 | [JK 1] James Kelly. "Capel Street". James Kelly (fiddle). |
| 1991 | 8#1 | [A HS] Altan. Harvest Storm. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle, vocals), Frankie Kennedy (flute, whistle, vocals), Paul O'Shaughnessy (fiddle), Ciaran Tourish (fiddle, whistle, vocals), Mark Kelly (guitar, vocals), Ciaran Curran (bouzouki, bouzouki-guitar). |
| ~1992 | 7#1 | [PHt] Parson's Hat. The Better Match. Bríd Ní Chatháin (harp, vocals), Fred Johnston (guitar, vocals, mandolin), Janet Sutton (whistle), Paul Wilkins (piano accordion, whistle, keyboards, piano). |
| ~1996 | 11#3 | [LN 1] Laurence Nugent. Traditional Irish Music on Flute and Tin-Whistle. Laurence Nugent (flute, whistle). |
| ~1996 | 8#3 | [MOB] Mick O' Brien. May Morning Dew. Mick O' Brien (pipes, whistle). |
| 1999 | 2#1 | [MCnnly] Mick Conneely. Selkie. Mick Conneely (fiddle, bouzouki). |
| ~2000 | 5#1 | [MMR 3] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Road from Ballinakill. Mike Rafferty (flute, whistle, lilting), Mary Rafferty (accordion, flute, whistle, concertina). |
| 2001 | 10#1 | [FDys] Davy Spillane and Kevin Glackin. Forgotten Days. Davy Spillane (pipes, whistle), Kevin Glackin (fiddle). |
| ~2003 | 7#2 | [MMlvy] Mick Mulvey. Within a Mile o' Jamestown. Mick Mulvey (flute). |
| ~2007 | 6#1 | [ATrgs 1] Athena Tergis. A Letter Home. Athena Tergis (fiddle). |
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 #721 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #21 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #41 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 19 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| On page 59 of [RW] Robin Williamson. The Penny Whistle Book. |
| On page 29 of [TOC] Tomás Ó Canainn. Traditional Music in Ireland. |
| As tune #175 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As jig #46 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #51 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. |
| As tune #183 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. |
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?