Loch Leven Castle hornpipe

Learnt this tune at the Clonmel Scoil

Nice tune Trevor. You have picked up some gems during your visit to Clonmel. Keep ‘em coming. We want the full list.
I have heard this tune in the past under the name Tom Greany’s Castle.
FIDDLECASE

Fiddlecase, I am indeed preparing a list of the tunes I was taught (not necessarily learned!) at Clonmel, and one or two others I came across, and I’ll post the list on my Clonmel thread. Some have already been posted on the tune database and there are more to follow. With two of them, though, I shall first have to transcribe the tutor’s play-through because he departs quite a bit from the printed versions (he’s a Mayo man, after all!), and this will take a little time.
Trevor

For the benefit of those who do not know the pronunciation of Irish, “Gamhna” is pronounced more or less as “Gowna” - the anglicised form of the word.
Trevor

This hornpipe, under the title of “Tuamgraney Castle”, was popular in California in the very early seventies when I was first learning Irish tunes.

I found another version of this hornpipe, titled Silver Street Lasses, in the James Moore manuscripts, Tyneside, 1841.

I think this was originally a Scottish reel with the title of Loch Leven Castle.

I know it as Loch Leven Castle, too. I have it in Kerr’s Caledonian, and Marr & Co’s Royal Collection of Highland Airs, Quicksteps, etc, neither of which is dated, but I think early last century. 19xx something.

goes down well in mixolydian too

Classical guitarist David Russell recorded this tune on his “Message of the Sea” CD, a collection of Celtic music, under the title “Loch Leven Castle”. He noted that the Loch Leven Castle is on a small island near Kinross, and was the scene of many battles between the English and the Scots from 1290 onward. He states that Mary Queen of Scots was held theree in 1567, and escaped in 1568.

Go here for a mixolydian version https://thesession.org/tunes/2459

This hornpipe is somewhat similar to McGovern’s Favourite: https://thesession.org/tunes/2430

John Taylor plays Loch leven castle along with two other songs in the same set…..does anyone know what the title of those songs are…?

The version I posted is from: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/irish-mandolin-tab/tomgraney_castle.htm

Hopefully I didn’t break any rules!

Pretty nice arrangement transcribed from Robin Williamson’s book The Penny Whistle Book.

In the conclusion he says “Above all, share whatever you find out musically; you can’t become less by giving away tunes or ideas.” so hopefully he won’t mind.

Found this in a book years ago with the title “Silver Street Lasses”.

Here’s the version of Tuamgreaney Castle we play in E minor.

Tuamgraney ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuamgraney ) is in east Clare, and if you go there
you will indeed see a (smallish) castle there, which now houses the local historical society.
If you go in, at least when we did several years ago, you will find a video of Manus Maguire playing
this tune (with lots of nice variations). I think that Manus still lives in Tuamgraey – at least he did at one time.

From the playing of Across The Pond.

Second tune of their “Castle Set”.

This is how it’s often played in Scottish sessions, with a slightly dotted hornpipe feel to it.

Reminds me of happy evenings in a little rowboat fishing with my dad on Loch Leven with the castle on its island in the middle.

It’s an ancient and historic fortress that was visited by Robert the Bruce and where Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner by the Confederate Lords.