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The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index

Tune ID#1988 (Union Reel)

Transcription of first 2 bars of Union Reel about these two bars
These two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MB 1 (details in the Discography below).
Basic musical information on this tune.
Rhythm ?Bars8-bar phrase structureMode ?
Reel16ABA Mixolydian
Titles ? given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Union Reel, The / Union Reel / The Union / Union / Ríl na hAontachta / Turfman's Union / The Turf Man's Union / The Kilfenora Reel (2nd in set The Ways to the Racket on PJConlon; 2nd in set The Names I've Forgotten on MR 10; 2nd in set The Ritz on KCB 6) (also in G, with a 3rd part by Paddy O'Brien) (compare with 1st 2 parts of Moher Reel #5160)
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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).
19232.6#2
[PJConlon] Peter J. Conlon. The Genius of Peter Conlon. 78 RPM Recordings from 1917-1929. Peter J. Conlon (melodeon).
~19582#3
[KCB 1] The Kilfenora Ceili Band. The Fabulous Kilfenora Ceili Band. P.J. Lynch (fiddle), Gus Tierney (fiddle), Jim McCormack (flute), Gerry Lynch (accordion), P. Mullins, T. Eustace, P. Madigan, Kitty Linnane (piano), G. O'Loughlin (drums).
19742.23#2
[MR 10] Micho Russell. Rarities and Old Favorites 1949-1993. Micho Russell (whistle, flute, vocals). For this tune: (Eb whistle).
~19791#3
[MB 1] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin. Traditional Irish Music on the Tin Whistle. Mary Bergin (whistle). For this tune: (Eb whistle).
20017#1
[IrHvst] Joe Derrane, Frankie Gavin, Brian McGrath. Ireland's Harvest. Joe Derrane (accordion), Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Brian McGrath (piano).
~200214#2
[KCB 6] The Kilfenora Céilí Band. Live in Lisdoonvarna. Anne Rynne (fiddle), Conor McCarthy (accordion), Garry Shannon (flute), Tim Collins (concertina), Sheila Garry (fiddle), Fintan McMahon (piano), Anne Marie McCormack (fiddle), John Lynch (banjo), Sean Griffin (drums), Anthony Quigney (flute).
~20022.3#3
[MSCB] Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton (accordion), Caroline Tubridy (fiddle), Pat Curtin (flute), Brian Morgan (flute), Ralph Morgan (banjo), George Byrt (piano), Martin Garrihy (drums).
200318#1
[CSmth] Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Coyotebanjo. Chris Smith (banjo, mandola, mandolin, field organ), Roger Landes (bouzouki), Randal Bays (fiddle).
20082#3
[LRCB] Lough Ree Ceili Band. Keep 'er Lit. Live from Spanish Point. Johnnie Duffy (banjo), Brendan Doyle (accordion), Liz Ryan (piano), Colin Butler (drums).
~201110#2
[PO 4] Paddy O'Brien. Mixing the Punch. Paddy O'Brien (accordion).
20134#2
[MMcHugh] Martin McHugh. The Master's Choice. Martin McHugh (accordion).

Goes Well with . . .

In the above Discography, this tune is:

Played afterOn Albums
Sligo Maid		KCB 1, KCB 6
Woman of the House		PJConlon
Ah Surely		MB 1
Rainy Day		MR 10
Knotted Cord		MSCB
Red-Haired Lass		LRCB
Connemara Stockings		PO 4
Dowd's No. 9		MMcHugh
Played beforeOn Albums
High Reel		KCB 6
New-Mown Meadows		CSmth

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.
As tune #197 in [CRE 3] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3. [available]
As tune #37 in [P50] Brian and Eithne Vallely. Play 50 Reels. [available]
As reel #218 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.
In [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 116 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As reel #341 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #262 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. [available]
As reel #8 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?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering only the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1923
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2025 Alan Ng. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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