The Fiddlers’ Contest hornpipe

Brian Conway plays this simple tune and I thought it a gem as he plays it, filled with lovely flourishes and ornaments. I couldn’t find it on this site so looked for it elsewhere. Credit I believe to Vince Brennan for the transcription. It’s also in O’Neill’s. This setting I believe is from the playing of Paddy Cronin. Also recorded by Denis Liddy as a simpler (not necessarily easy) version.

Setting in a more playable key in a session.

Pat Barton plays a nice version of this tune (press on the link to go to the video):

https://youtu.be/pE6dqmMv_9k

play video

This Wexford setting of this hornpipe is my ‘fusion’ of the playing of it by two local accordionists. I don’t think this hornpipe had a name locally over the years so I was delighted to realize lately that in the key of A, it’s in O‘ Neill’s as the ’Fiddler’s Contest‘. I had been sent a Facebook clip, as part of ’The Wexford tune project’, of it being played by John Murphy of Ballyfane in Carne and that reminded me of this tune and that it was also in the repetoire of All-Ireland accordion champion Tom Ferris of Wexford town. I played with Tom for many wonderful years and learned a huge amount of tunes from Tom’s seemingly inexhaustable store of traditional music. John Murphy I believe, like Paddy Hayes, spent a long number of years in London.