Eileen O’Callaghan’s (reel) on The Session

Also known as The Canny Highland Fling, Geaghan’s, Geaghan’s Fancy, Geehan’s, Geogahan’s, Geogehan’s, Geoghagan’s, Geoghan’s, Geoghegan’s, Geoghegan’s Fancy, Grogan’s, Grogan’s Favorite, Grogan’s Favourite, Paddy Canny’s, Peter Carberry’s, Snow On The Hills, Strone Johnny.

Fourteen comments

Eileen O’Callaghan’s

Sorry I can’t remember where I first learned this tasty little reel, but it was directly off a live player. I’ve note heard this tune played very widely, though it does crop up at sessions now and then.

I learned it as a single reel, played ABAB, and at a moderate pace. It fits well with reels in D major, but I also like to follow it with Eileen Curran in G dorian—the symmetry of the Eileen twins comes through in the titles and certain phrases in the melodies.

There are a few different names for this tune, and it sometimes gets played in A.

I play it in this key - nice tune

I don’t, but hey I can use a capo and you can’t! 🙂)

Eileen O’Callaghan’s

I’m glad to hear that other people are playing this. In the spirit of recent discussions about improving our posting of tunes, here’s a more basic setting of the tune.

T: Eileen O’Callaghan’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
|G2 BG DGBA|GABd cAFA|GBB2 dcBc|defd cAFA|
|G2 BG DGBA|GABd cAFA|GBB2 dBB2|defd cAFA||
|dggf g2 fg|add2 adfe|dggf g2 fe|defd cAFA|
|dggf g2 fg|abag fgaf|dgg2 bgg2|defd cAFA||

There’s another O’Callaghan’s Reel, also in G, but it’sa different tune.

I just listened to the sound file of this tune and found it’s the tune recorded as "Geehan’s Reel" on Paul McGrattan’s first solo album. I think nobody else calls that way. He wrote this might be a version of Trim the Velvet. Nice tune anyway, I’ll learn it in the near future.

"The Canny Highland Fling" ~ every which way but loose ~

R: highland fling
K: G Major
|: FA |
G2 B>G D>GB>G | D>G (3Bcd c>AF>A |
G>B (3BBB d>B (3BBB | d>e (3fed c>A :|
|: (3FGA |
d2 g>f g2 f>g | a>d^c>d a>d (3gfe |
d>g (3ggg B>g (3ggg | d>ef>d c>AF>A |
d>gg>f (3gag f>g | a>ba>g f>ga>f |
b>g (3ggg d>B (3BBB | (3gfe d>B (3cBA ||

~ and it works nice in the key of A Major too… There are also a few places where a ‘snap’ (‘<’) wouldn’t go amiss…

Or, as Dow would have it ~ "Geoghan’s Fling"///

Part A, Bar 3 ~ for the sake of Tao ~

Sister tune

There are many tunes related to this reel, including "Trim the Velvet," "Kiss the Maid behind the Barrel," "The Steampacket," etc. But the closest one is probably "the Milliner’s Daughter": https://thesession.org/tunes/1409

Original setting?

I’ve added #5 from an old 78 of the Aughrim Slopes Ceilidhe Band, featured on the CD Past Masters of Irish Dance Music; also the spelling "Geoghegan’s" from the Joe Burke/Michael Cooney LP, to add to the ever growing pile of variants of the name. Burke and Cooney play this setting, perhaps the old record popularized this reel, or it’s a Galway tune.

Eileen O’Callaghan’s, X:6 - Peter Carberry’s

‘Peter Carberry’s’ as played by Angelina on ‘Pluckin’ Mad’ is very close to this reel - ‘Eileen O’Callaghan’s’ though the second part is slightly different. I think they’re probably close enough to be variants of the one tune.

X: 6
T:Peter Carberry’s
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:Reel
K:G
G2BG DGBG|GABd cAFA|G2BG DGBc|defd cAFA|
G2BG DGBG|GABd cAFA| GABc dgeg|fdcA AGG2 :|
dg~g2 bgaf|dggf d2cA|dg~g2 bgag|fdcA GABc|
dg~g2 bgaf|dggf defg|~a3g ~f3e|defd cAFA:||