The Boyne Hunt reel

This setting of Boyne Hunt came from fiddler Brad Maloney of Providence, RI. According to Brad, the last three measures of this tune’s second part should be played with a good deal of swing (almost like a hornpipe) to give it a little lift.

John Harvey

🙂

I’d never heard this tune before coming to Leeds, Yorkshire, but it’s one of the first tunes all the kids there learn. It’s such a simple, lovely reel, so it sometimes pops up in the session. Here is the local version:

K:Gmaj
BAFA DAFA|DAFA BE~E2|BAFA DAFA|ABde fedB|
BAFA DAFA|DAFA BE~E2|BAFA DAFA|ABde fdd2||
faaf afdf|gfga be~e2|faaf afdB|ABde fdd2|
faaf afdf|gfga be~e2|fgfe d2dB|ABde fedB||

It seems originally a Scots tune.

Sorry, the version above is in D major.

In Clare we’re familiar with the setting above by Slainte. This is a very popular reel in the County and is usually followed by Shannon Breeze (also known as Rolling in the Ryegrass).

is it me or is the setting in o’neills more fun?

I’ve been thinking this tune can be a variant of Lucy Campbell’s.

Barney McKenna played each part 4 times at one of the Dubliners gigs. It was transformed into a longer reel but I prefer it as a short one. Four Men and A Dog Barking Mad tried to do the same thing with “The Mountain Road”. This time it worked but probably because Gerry O’Conner really did a good job of it.

Drives me mad when playing this tune and nobody but myself knows or plays the third part.

Could you post it, please, then maybe some more of us could pick it up. “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness, grasshopper”.
Originally Scottish, I believe, “The Perthshire Hunt”, and I think it was in “C”.
PaddyC - not sure about your Barney McKenna statement. This was the first reel I ever learned on mandolin. The LP record of the Dubliners playing it had 2 tunes - the first a version of “Sporting Nell”, followed by “The Boyne Hunt”. I’d be surprised if he played it differently live, but it is possible. Sure that’s not what happened? Just curious.

@ Kenny: Here is the Willie Clancy version I know. Three parts. Missing out some triplets because I still can’t write them in abc. You’ll find and play them on your instrument anyway…
@Free Reed: What’s your 3rd part?

X: 1
T: Boyne Hunt, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmaj
BAFA DAFA|DAFA BEE2|BAFA DAFA|ABde fddB:|
faa2 agaf|g3a bgeg|faa2 agaf|efde fdd2|
faa2 agaf|g3a bgeg|f2fe dedB|ABde fddc||
dfAd BdAd|dfAd feec|dfAd BdAF|ABde fddc|
dfAd BdAd|dfAd feef|gefd ecdB|ABde fded||

A slightly different version of this tune (no triplets, for example) is called Scéal na gCapali in a recording made by the Chieftains for an Italian “Best of Folk Music” CD… no other evidence of a tune with such a name, it took me about a year to find out it was actually called the Boyne Hunt!

transcription from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpeJSNfDKNM&feature=rec-r2

play video

X:1
T:Boyne Hunt, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:reel
K:Amaj
E2CE A,ECE|A,ECE FB,B,2|E2CE A,ECE|EFAB cAAF:|
| ceec efec | d3e fdBd | ceec efec| BcAB cAA2 |
| ceec efec | d3e fdBd | c2cB ABAF | EFAB cAAF ||

with a variation in the B part that goes something like this:

| eAAe fA e2 | AAae cB B2 | eAAe fA eA | ecBe cAA2 |
| cAeA fAeA | aece fB B2 | fecA BFAF|EFAB cAAF :||

X: 1
T: Boyne Hunt, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmaj
A2FA DAFA|DAFA BGEG|A2FA DAFA|A2de fedB|
A2FA DAFA|DAFA BGEG|A2FA DAFA|A2de fed2||
faaf aaaf|ggga bgeg|faaf aaaf|dcde fdd2|
faaf aaaf|ggga bgeg|fffe dcdB|ABde fedB||

(aprox.)

This is direct from O’Neills 1850 tunes (#1241), and includes a third part. I have to say I think the G#s in the second part are pretty gruesome, but the rest is quite pleasing to the ear.

Searching through O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion of Pipe Tunes and found another tune of the same name. 6/8 rather than 4/4, completely different melody but a nice piece.

Thanks for all the information

In D. Last Tune. Super fast!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5mdjuvt4G8

play video

transcription from track #1 on Caitlín Nic Gabhann & Ciarán O Maonaigh’s recording “Caitlín & Ciarán”

Here’s the setting, I play.
I found it in an old book of tunes I found in my house called Allan’s Collection Of Reels & Strathspeys

The original tune “The Perthshire Hunt” was composed by Miss Magdalene Stirling (1765-1846).