Tommy Mulhaire’s jig

I got this one from John Skelton (X-London-er now living in Kentucky {House Band Fame}) who’s both a great player & a great guy. He played it & my eyes lit up, I asked him about it & he said the name may be off. I think he said he learned it in NYC, or someone from NYC. I wanted to share it w/ you guys because it’s a great tune which should be played.

This is the second of a set of jigs that I learned from John Carty and Marcus Hernon, following “The Cat That Ate the Candle”. John has recorded this set on his wonderful album with sensitive accompaniment by Brian McGrath. I used to regularly attend a session headed up by John and Marcus but unfortunately only recorded it a couple of times. I keep hoping that they would record an album together as they managed to make the unlikely combination of banjo and flute sound pretty good.

This tune feels that it should really be in Eminor, with just one sharp.
Each of the 2 parts starts in Em, and resolves to G at the end.
The lack of a C(# or natural) in the tune doesn’t help!

I learned this tune a couple of days ago by myself and have been addicted to it. A few weeks ago I recorded Radio Ulster’s programme Culan through the internet and happened to come across Sligo fluter June McCormack’s lovely playing of this tune. It seems Robbie Hannon picked it up from her recent duet recording with a harper Michael Rooney. It’s an astonishingly beautiful playing of a lovely jig set. Though they didn’t have a proper name for it, it sounded really familiar to me. Then several days later, I remembered Alan Kelly and Brian McGrath recorded it in box and banjo duet, and got the correct title. And just a few days ago I found it’s also on John William’s solo album.

I love the combination of rather melancholic first half and somewhat cheerful second half of the tune. It’s a really lovely old-fashioned tune and should be played more. I’ll probably record it on Mighty Craic II.

Here is my interpretation of the tune. Some variaions are taken from June McCormack’s playing I mentioned above.

K: G
F|EDE G2A|Bde dBd|edB GAB|~A3 AGF|
EDE G2A|BAB dBd|edB GAB|AGF G2:|
B|ded def|gfe fdB|~A3 ABd|egf e2f|
g2e fed|edB ~g3|edB GAB|AGF G2B|
ded def|g2a fdB|~A3 ABd|egf e2f|
gfe fed|edB g2z|edB GAB|AGF G2||

Lovely, isn’t it? If you like Donnybrook Fair, you’ll love this one too.

Here’s the name I have for this tune. I found “Castletown Connors” in Martin Mulvihill’s Collection to a different tune, here’s the abcs.

K:Edor
Bee Bcd | ABG FED | GFG AGA | B2 A Bcd |
Bee Bcd | ABG FEF | DFA dAF | EFE E2A:|
BEF G2A | BAG FED | BEF G2A | B2A Bed |
BEF G2A | BAG FEF | DFA dAF | EFE E2A:|

Jack, it’s already on this database. Gian Marco posted the Ador setting as “Condon’s Frolics.” Well, I recorded that tune for Mighty Craic. I love both tunes.

June McCormack’s playing of this tune was on the air again. I recommend all of you to check it on the net in a few days. It’s in Radio Ulster’s programme “Culan.”

https://thesession.org/tunes/1433

Great tune.

Tommy Mulhaire’s is a great jig. I got it from this week’s Comhaltaslive programme and was coming here to post it only to discover it’s been on the site for some time!

Compare the 1st part with Brid Harper’s https://thesession.org/tunes/2376.

Ashling McPhillips from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh plays this jig in a Comhaltas video after “The Kilmovee.”

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_261_2_aishling_mcphillips

Ashling McPhillips from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh plays this jig in a Comhaltas video after “The Kilmovee.”

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_261_2_aishling_mcphillips

It’s great to have a proper name for this; Josephine Marsh recorded it as “Carolan’s Fancy. ” That’s a lovely setting of it on the Comhaltas video - thanks. I’d love to hear John Skelton play it too.

Just ask him at camp this year.

Watch the Hurleys of Ballymote play this jig: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_264_3_the_hurley_family

Their father Michael is actually from Leeds, West Yorkshire. I actually played this jig with Michael’s brother Des Hurley last year, during my short stay in the city. I did not expected he would play one of my favourite tunes!

I think there is a bit of confusion here. This is Tommy Mulhaire’s. Castletown Conners is a different tune. The confusion may have arisen because Shaskeen play the one after the other on at least two recordings

That’s what I’ve been thinking. John Carty calls this tune “Castletown Connors” on his first banjo album, and then Alan Kelly and Brian McGrath used the same title for it on “Fourmilehouse.” However, it’s just a speculation. Fiddler’s Companion refers to two different musicians as possible composers, but the tune might predate them and has become associated with them later. Who knows the truth? And it’s not very unusual that more than one tune has the same title.

Anyway, I recently started to call this jig “Tommy Mulhaire’s” to avoid confusion. The jig which is often called “Castletown Connors” is this one: https://thesession.org/tunes/1244
It’s most often played in Edor, but pipers like to play it in Ador. And now fans of Dervish play it in Bm.

According to Fiddler’s Companion, the title refers to Martin Mulhaire’s father, and both Martin and Tommy are cited as the possible composer of the tune. Considering they are from Eyrecourt, Co. Galway, it is definitely associated with the east part of Galway.

I once had a chance to play this jig with the fiddler Sheila O’Dowd in Sligo town. She played the Edor version of Condon’s Frolics after it, so I guess she learnt the two tunes from Shaskeen’s recording. It is one of the most beautiful memories from 4 years ago.

I agree, westcott; I prefer this tune E minor throughout, ending part one on E and even starting part 2 on e.

this tune is played alot in co antrim and is knowen well as “THE COW THAT ATE THE BLANKET”

John Carty recorded this tune and “the Cow that Ate the Blanket” together as a set years ago. Perhaps, that’s why the titles of the two tunes have got confused.

As pointed out by Taglione this is not Castletown Connors, or at least not the Castletown Connors also known as Condon’s Frolics - which is the fourth setting here by Phantom Button. This tune is the second in this video… https://youtu.be/6LhkuJVm8ug

play video

Mr.Gumby over on Chiff and Fipple pointed out the similarities between this jig and I buried my wife… https://thesession.org/tunes/381
If you shift this down a tone, and ignore the Fnats anyway.

Here’s a good source for Tommy Mulhaire (1906-1993) as the composer of this tune.
https://www.mulhairemusic.com/tommy-mulhaire-s

The way this tune develops in the first part makes me think of “The Rock on the Clyde” composed by Bobby McLeod https://thesession.org/tunes/2376. The last 2 bars of each tune decide wether it will be major (the present tune which is actually in G, not in Edor, the resolution note being obviously a G, not an E ; add to this that Cs, which are missing, are natural not sharp, and this leads definitively to a G tune) and minor (Rock on the Clyde).