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The Tar Road To Sligo jig

Also known as An Bóthar Mór So Sligeach, An Bóthar Tarra Go Sligeach, The Coach Road To Sligo, Coleman’s, The Green Fields Of Ardkiernan, The High Road To Sligo, The Humors Of The Whiskey, The Road To Sligo.

There are 49 recordings of a tune by this name.

A tune by this name has been recorded together with Paddy Clancy’s (lots of times), Tobin’s Favourite (a few times), Tripping Up The Stairs (a few times), Dancing Eyes (a few times) and Eddie Kelly’s (a few times).

The Tar Road To Sligo has been added to 59 tune sets.

The Tar Road To Sligo has been added to 832 tunebooks.

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Five settings

X: 1
T: The Tar Road To Sligo
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:e|fdB Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA ABc|dcd efg|
fdB Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA Aag|fdc d2:|
|:B|Adf Adf|gfg efg|afd dcd|Bed cBA|
[1 Adf Adf|gfg efg|afd bge|edc d2:|
[2 fdB gec|~a3 bge|~a3 bge|edc d2||
X: 2
T: The Tar Road To Sligo
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Bmin
f2B Bcd|ecA BAG|F2A ABc|dcd efg|
f2B Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA A2g|1fdc d2e:|2fdc d2B||
A2f A2f|gfg efg|afd dcd|Bed cBA|
A2f A2f|gfg efg|afd bge|edc dcB|
A2f A2f|gfg efg|afd dcd|Bed cBA|
fdA geg|~a3 bge|~a3 bge|edc d3|
X: 3
T: The Tar Road To Sligo
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|: e |fdB Bcd | ecA BAG | F2 A ABc | dcd efg |
fdB Bcd | ecA BAG | FGA a2 g | fdc d2 :|[2 fdc dd/c/B ||
|: A2 f Adf | gfg efg | afd dcd | Bed cBc |
[1 Adf Adf | gfg efg | a^ga b=ge | edc dcB :|
[2 fdA gfg | a^ga b/a/=ge | a^ga b=ge | edc d2 |]
X: 4
T: The Tar Road To Sligo
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
d2e|: fdB Bcd | ecA A2G | FGA ABc | dcd efg |
fdB Bcd | ecA A2G | FGA Aag |1 fdd d2e:|2 fdd d2B ||
|:Adf Adf | gfg efg | afd dcd | Bed cBA |
Adf Adf | gfg efg | afd bge | edc d3 :|
X: 5
T: The Tar Road To Sligo
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:fBB Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA ABc|dcd dfg|
fBB Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA Aag|fdc d3:|
|:Aff Aff|gfg efg|afd dcd|Bed cBA|
[1 Aff Aff|gfg efg|a2a bag|edc d3:|
[2 fed gfe|a2a bag|a2a bag|edc d3||

Eleven comments

Tar road to Sligo

This tune was made famous by The Bothy Band, and is a great tune for finishing a set of jigs. Some tunes are only siuted to one instrument, but this sounds great on any instrument and has great "drive".

It is also known as "Coleman’s", after fiddler Michael Coleman, who made it famous through his 78rpm recordings made in America.

Tar Road to Sligo

Joanie Madden plays this tune in a set with ‘The Legacy Jig’, to find on the CD "Pure Bodhran". It’s vibrant- you feel like playing and dancing immediately. Try it!

I found it on a Ceili CD under the name "Green Fields of Ardkiernan".

An Bóthar Tarra Go Sligeach

T:An Bóthar Tarra Go Sligeach
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Each Other’s Shadow by Flaithrí And Eoghan
R:jig
Z:gian marco pieteasanta
K:BMIN
f2B Bcd|ecA BAG|F2A ABc|dcd efg|
f2B Bcd|ecA BAG|FGA A2g|1fdc d2e:|2fdc d2B||
A2f A2f|gfg efg|afd dcd|Bed cBA|
1A2f A2f|gfg efg|afd bge|edc dcB:|
2fdA geg|~a3 bge|~a3 bge|edc d3:|

The flute player sitting next to John Kelly is actually Mick Gavin, not Mick Crehan. Thanks Kenny for correcting me.

The Tar Road To Sligo, X:4

Taken from ‘A Fine Selection of Over 200 Irish Traditional Tunes for Sessions’, compiled by David Speers with a Forward by Matt Cranitch. This version is like the whistle recording posted by Slainte. I love the way the first part of the A tune centres around B minor then resolves to D major.

The Tar Road To Sligo, X:5

I find the start of each part easier to play this way.