The Creaking Door slip jig

Here’s another “lurker” from “Treoir” magazine. It’s maybe a bit formulaic and predictable in how it goes, but, like the other jigs I’ve posted in the past week, it has a simpistic charm about it.
Here’s the story behind it :

“A slip-jig composed by Tom Barrett after the recent Teacher’s Course. Tom says, “If one enters the Conference Room via the Jim Seery library, one must pass through a connecting door. I wonder how many noticed that every time the door is opener it creaks. Funny nobody ever remarked on it or even suggested something should be done about it. I feel the powers that be know all about it and have decided to do nothing ! Why ? The reason is obvious. It has a musical creak !!! And having heard its’ dulcet tones I - “Uncle” Tom - decided something should be done to perpetuate its’ memory. hence the following slip-jig”.

This was published in “Treoir” around 40 years ago, and I’ve never come across it outwith its’ pages since, so I don’t think Tom’s had much success with his wish to immortalise “The Creaking Door” - so far. Posting it here might help - that’s up to you. Give it a try.

Aha - I see he has recorded it, on a CD posted here by Nigel Gatherer. Tom Barrett is apparently a fiddle player.

A footnote to this submission by Kenny. In her 2004 book “A Drop In The Ocean”, Josephine Keegan includes this tune in the “New Composers” section and she attributes it to Kevin McCann, suggesting it was composed by him in 1947. She sets out the tune with three parts which correspond with parts 1, 2 and 4 as submitted by Kenny.

(She also includes two other tunes which she attributes to Kevin McCann - a jig called The Fraser Clan and The Edwardsville Reel.)

She says this about Kevin McCann in the intro to the new composers’ section:

Kevin Mc Cann M.D., D.P.H.
Dr Kevin McCann was born in Galway City. Both his parents were Gaelic speakers, his mother being the winner of an All-Ireland Gaelic singing competition in 1907.
After qualifying as a medical doctor in Dublin in 1941 he practised in Ireland and England and eventually made his home in Canada.
He played fiddle and accordian (sic) and made great friends with Canadian musicians of French and Scottish origin, exchanging tunes with them.
These few tunes show a talent that was mostly unknown, in Ireland, in his lifetime.
The Creaking Door (slip jig) was his first composition in 1947 and the other two, The Fraser Clan and The Edwardsville Reel are but samples of the numerous tunes he wrote.

I find this really interesting. Both the snippet from Treoir which Kenny quotes and the piece by Josephine Keegan which I’ve quoted are quite specific and definite (the Treoir quote more specific), so it would be interesting to know which version is correct…