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The Murroe polka

Also known as The Ballyfin Polka #1, The Ballyfin Polka No. 1, Ballyfin Polkas, The Ballyfin Polkas #1, The Ballyfin Polkas No. 1, East Limerick, The Leitrim, Mrs O’Dwyer’s, Peg Ryan’s, Peggy Ryan’s Fancy, Phil’s, Slugs And Snails.

There are 12 recordings of this tune.

This tune has been recorded together with

The Murroe appears in 3 other tune collections.

The Murroe has been added to 22 tune sets.

The Murroe has been added to 176 tunebooks.

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Four settings

1
X: 1
T: The Murroe
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:Bd G>A|Bd GB|A2 FA|GF ED|
Bd G>A|Bd GB|A2 FA|AG G>A:|
|:Bd ef|g2 ga|f/e/d ef|ed BA|
Bd ef|g2 ga|f/e/d ef|e2 ed:|
2
X: 2
T: The Murroe
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|: A/ |Bd G>A | Bd GB | AB/A/ FD | AB/A/ FD |
Bd G>A | Bd GB | AB/A/ FD | G2 G3/ :|
|: A/ |Bd ef | g2 fe | ed d>f | ed c/B/A |
[1 Bd ef | g2 fe | ed Bd | e2 e3/ :|
[2 B/c/d G>A | Bd GB | AB/A/ FD | G2 G3/ |]
3
X: 3
T: The Murroe
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|: Bd G>A | Bd GB | AB/A/ FA | Ge ed |
Bd G>A | Bd GB | AB/A/ FA | AG GA :|
|: B/c/d ef | g>f ga | f/e/d ef | ed BA |
[1 B/c/d ef | g>f ga | f/e/d ef | e2 ed :|
[2 Bd GA | Bd GB | AB/A/ FA | AG G2 ||
4
X: 4
T: The Murroe
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:Bd/B/ GB|B/c/d/B/ GB|A/B/A/G/ FA|GB/d/ gd|
Bd/B/ GB|B/c/d/B/ GB|A/B/A/G/ FA|1 G2 G2:|2 G2 GA||
|:Bc/d/ ef|g2 gf|e/g/f/e/ df|ed B/c/B/A/|
GB/d/ ef|g2 gf/e/|df af|e2 ed:|

Fifteen comments

The Murroe Polka

The Kerry polka is often incorrectly called Peg Ryans, this one is the real Peg Ryans, but is also called The Murroe Polka.
Murroe is a picturesque country wooded area east of Limerick City better known prabably as being the location of Glenstal Abbey.

There is no ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ in these realms. A number of tunes have been ascribed to Peg Ryan and in the absence of a name, she not always having one, sometimes folks just took the easy route. Now, hopefully that won’t turn into a chicken or the egg discussion… They tend to arrive us as ‘gan ainms’ first, or in most cases… There are those nut cases who start with a title first - in search of a tune… Each to his own point of inspiration…

I added "Phil’s Polka" as an alternate name. We learned this tune from Phil Duffy, an excellent box player from Cavan, who didn’t know what it was called. It was released as part of a set on our CD "Live at the PAC".

This is the first proper tune I learned on the Accordian.

Ballyvin - aka The Morroe Polka

Good old polka I learned - in Morroe from Peg Ryan (yes, that one) and it’s great for a 8th or 10th tune as it’s easy but too easy and the change in 2nd part is a boost for confidence to the learner.
Great tune to have at any rate.

Ba - LL - yfin 😀

Thanks, I only just realized my second ‘L’ wasn’t given with enough kick on this new (old!) keyboard… Maybe I need to exercise that particular finger more?

Re: The Murroe

My late partner came from Murroe and she knew Peg Ryan, who was a local fiddle player. This might help explain the two names for the tune.

Posted by .

The Murroe, X:4

Based on the playing of Billy Clifford (https://thesession.org/recordings/3755) . He called it Padraig (O’Keeffe’s) Polka. This setting is clearly related to The Murroe but, on the grounds that they’d clash if played together, it probably merits a separate entry. However for want of a distinctive name….
Breandán Breathnach collected a similar version (gan ainm) from a manuscript of David Collins from Abbeyfeale in 1958. See CRE4.80. I first heard the excellent Joe Sullivan play this in Buckley’s in Killarney - a grand tune!