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The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index

Tune ID#105 (Ballydesmond Polka)

Transcription of first 2 bars of Ballydesmond Polka about these two bars
These two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording SatG (details in the Discography below).
Basic musical information on this tune.
Rhythm ?Bars8-bar phrase structureMode ?
Polka32AABBD Mixolydian
Titles ? given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Ballydesmond Polka / Ballydesmond Polka No. 1 / The Ballydesmond (1) / The Rainy Night under the Bridge / Johnny O'Leary's / Donncha Lynch's (1st in set The Ballydesmond Polkas on SatG and in JOL; mislabeled as Knocknabowl on ItS; 1st in set Dul dtí's na Raiseanna a.k.a. Dul dtí's na Ráiseanna on BgCn; 2nd in set Ballyfin Polkas on Ch W) (also in E Dorian) (the setting on Ch W could be considered a distinct tune, and equally similar in its 1st part to #3040)
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Discography cd

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 play below to hear the first 12 seconds.
Year
Recorded		 Track
#Tune?		 [Album code] Artist. Title (Link to Album Info page). Performers (instruments).
~19699#1
[SatG] Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. The Star above the Garter. Fiddle music from Kerry, played by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle).
~197711#2
[ItS] In the Smoke. Julia Clifford (fiddle).
~19966#1
[BgCn] Séamus Begley and Stephen Cooney. Meitheal. Séamus Begley (accordion, vocals), Stephen Cooney (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, ditjeridú).
~19976#1
[CBt] Celtic Beat. Traditional Music from Ireland. Jason O'Rourke (concertina).
200014#2
[Ch W] The Chieftains. Water from the Well. Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle, accordion), Derek Bell (harp, harpsichord, piano, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute). For this tune: with Dave Munnelly (accordion), The Ballyfin Set Dancers: Sheila Kirwan, Mark Kirwan, Sheila Lanham, Gussie Lanham.
201112#1
[IFMCK] Connie O'Connell. Irish Fiddle Music from Counties Cork and Kerry. Connie O'Connell (fiddle).

Goes Well with . . .

In the above Discography, this tune is:

Played afterOn Albums
Knocknaboul Polka		ItS
Murroe		Ch W
Played beforeOn Albums
Ballydesmond Polka #2		SatG, IFMCK
Dul dtí's na Ráiseanna		BgCn
Siege of Ennis		CBt
St. Mary's		Ch W

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 musical matches to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

Listing of published transcriptions of this tune.
On page 126 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. [available]
As tune #20#1 in volume 2 of [LPTW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. [available]
As tune #94 in [SIMB] Tony Sullivan. Sully's Irish Music Book. [available]
As tune #57 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. [available]
As polka #2 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.
On page 53 of [SLoP] Paul Deloughery. Sliabh Luachra on Parade. [available]
As tune #34 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. [available]
As polka #3 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
On page 87 of [IFMCK] Drew Beisswenger. Irish Fiddle Music from Counties Cork and Kerry. [available]

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 only the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1969
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2024 Alan Ng. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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