The Castlebar Races jig

I learned this tune from a whistle tutor in the summer school in Sligo. She called it Morrison’s Jig, but obviously not the one with that title we know. So I searched Richard Moon’s tune data base for the tune by entering its fragment and found it is more widely known as “Mist on the Meadows.”

I play this tune after “My mind will never be easy” in G.

I found Harry Bradley recorded this tune as The Castlebar Races. Compared to Dow’s setting, Harry’s setting is close to the one I learned in Sligo and posted here. Just compare: https://thesession.org/tunes/1160

They’re different tunes with similar B-parts. Both get played at our session. I think HB must have got the names mixed up.

I’ve just found Conal O Grada also recorded this tune as The Castlebar Races. If it’s a mistake, this tune already goes with that name.

Harry Bradley plays the second part like this:
|~g3 bag|fef def|….

A very similar version of this jig can be found on page 79 of the Hidden Fermanagh book. It informs: “[the fluter] Eddie Duffy’s version of a popular local tune.”

To supply more information on the source of this particular version I posted, I got it from Ms. Olivia McTernan 4 years ago in Queen Maeve Summer School in Sligo town. Olivia is now working in Dublin but used to be a pupil of Sligo whistle player Carmel Gunning. (Liam Kelly, Damien Stenson, and June McCormack are also among Carmel’s past pupils.) I don’t remember where she learned the tune. But, judging from the list of the recordings which has it, I suspect it’s been rather popular in the area around North Sligo, Leitrim, Fermanagh, and some other parts in the North.

Compare the Cordal Jig: https://thesession.org/tunes/864

I have learned this as Paddy Ban’s jig, but it was in D.

I’m just listening to a home recording of Jackie Daly playing this with Edel Fox and Paul De Grae, where he introduces this as Heather and Sage.

The sheetmusic setting here is convenient for beginners who find rolls awkwards (compare 2d part: https://thesession.org/tunes/1160)

Has this in his recently released flute tutor under the name The Castlebar Races. Glad I found this tune, it’s quite lovely, although the second part isn’t the most exciting one I’ve heard.

Looking back at my comment from 2004, it looks like I got it mixed up. I think Harry Bradley had the title correctly as “Castlebar Races”. According to this website http://archive.org/details/JamesMorrisonMistontheMeadowCastlebarRaces James Morrison recorded this in 1922 in the set Mist On The Meadow / Castlebar Races. The first tune in the set is what is now more commonly known as Maid In The Meadow https://thesession.org/tunes/942, while the second was this tune posted by Slainte. This probably caused John McKenna to record Slainte’s tune under the title “Mist On The Meadows”.

Compare the Lark’s March in D https://thesession.org/tunes/5867

This jig is No197 in Francis O’Neill’s Waifs & Strays of Gaelic Melody, titled Morrison’s Fancy. Published in 1922.

Learned from a house concert tape featuring Kevin Burke, Tom Creagan, Dale Russ, and Gerry O’Beirne recorded on October 27th, 1985 in Kansas City, KS during the seventh game of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals. The musicians had spent most of that month playing at McGurks in St. Louis, and despite their donning Cardinals regalia during the concert intermission Kansas City won the series!

Thank you, “zoukboy,” for another setting of this tune.

Learned this from John Williams in Chicago. Also called “The Moving Bogs of Palsborough.” He usually opens his sessions with Lark In The Morning followed by Maid in the Meadow.

https://thesession.org/tunes/1205

You can check if tunes are already here (under a different name) by entering ABC snippets into the search field. With thousands of tunes in the database, this is very likely in the case of such well known ones. ;~)

This is Harry Bradley’s version from his album ‘ As i carelessly did stray’. I’ve never heard this version of the tune before and I don’t know if this is Harry’s own variation or did he hear it from someone else. I find this setting much tastier than the original. I think it;s got a nicer swing to it and the 2nd part is more melodically interesting.

I forgot to say that they’re C naturals in the 1st part.

From “Ship in the Clouds”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkXO43BAVt8&list=OLAK5uy_mUFfYs4SvdJk_qk26CQ7x_6nwvyFGBfFw&index=1

play video

McAloon and Rea have a go at it here