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O’Connor’s polka

Also known as The Hayden Fancy, Hayden’s Fancy, Johnnie Box, Johnny Box, Lena’s, Mary Ann, Mary Ann’s, Nell Mahoney’s, O’Connor’s.

There are 31 recordings of this tune.

This tune has been recorded together with

O’Connor’s appears in 1 other tune collection.

O’Connor’s has been added to 14 tune sets.

O'Connor's has been added to 112 tunebooks.

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Five settings

1
X: 1
T: O'Connor's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:D>E GB|D>E GB|AE ED/E/|GE EG|
D>E GB|D>E GB|AE FG|AG G2:|
|:dB BA/B/|dB B>A|GE ED/E/|GE E2|
dB BA/B/|dB B>A|AE FG|AG G2:|
2
X: 2
T: O'Connor's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
DG AB|DG AB|GE ED/E/|GE EG|
DG AB|DG AB|GE F'G|AG G2||
dB BA/B/|dB BA|GE ED/E/|GE EA|
dB BA/B/|dB BA|GE F'G|AG G2||
3
X: 3
T: O'Connor's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:A>B df|A>B d/e/f/e/|dB BA/B/|dB B/c/d/B/|
AA/B/ df|A>B df|eB cd|ed d2:|
|:af fe/f/|af f>e|dB BA/B/|dB B/c/d/f/|
af f/e/d/f/|af fe/f|eB cd|ed d2:|
4
X: 4
T: O'Connor's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:A>B df|A>B df|eB BA/B/|dB Bd|
A>B df|A>B df|eB cd|1 ed d2:|2 ed d>g||
|:af f/e/f/g/|af f/g/f/e/|dB BA/B/|dB BA|
af f/e/f/g/|af f/g/f/e/|dB cd|1 ed d>g:|2 ed d2||
5
X: 5
T: O'Connor's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:D>E GB|D>E GB/A/|GE ED/E/|GE EG|
D>E GB|D>E GB|AE FG|1 AG G2:|2 AG GA/B/||
|:dB BA/B/|dB B>A|GE ED/E/|GE EA/B/|
dB BA/B/|dB B>A|GE FG|1 AG GA/B:|2 AG G2||

Ten comments

This is called Mary Ann in Matt Cunningham’s Dance Music of Ireland

For some reason the B section of this tune reminds me of that little ditty that all of us played on the piano when we were kids (at least those of us who couldn’t really play the piano) where we would run our knuckles on the group of 3 black keys sluring up and then hit the next black key up (c#) a couple of times and then slur down on the black keys and hit the d# a couple of times.
Anyway I think this goes well followed by Biddy Martin and then the Barren Rock of Aden.

O’Connor’s Polka

This is the very first polka I’ve learned! It’s also on Beginish’s first album though no name is given. And I still remember Martin Hayes play it on the stage around a couple of years ago in Edinburgh.

Teada Polka

Teada plays a whole different version of this polka, but we found this version first. It’s a nice tune, and very easy.

O’Connor’s Polka

If I remember rightly the title was given by the Boys of the Lough after Martin O’Connor, from whom they learnt the polka. On a later recording they also played it as a jig, rather successfully. I heard it played in an Edinburgh session many years ago by Neil Davie.

Teada = "O’Connor’s Polka" ~ just ‘slightly’ different

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on December 23rd 2005 by Zazzaliss.
https://thesession.org/tunes/5342

If you know this tune as ‘Teada’ or ‘Teada’s’, I suspect that was just ‘Zazzaliss’ not having a name and their choosing to assign the name of the band ‘Teada’ to their transcription, not a method I would recommend or respect. ‘Gan Ainm’ will do just fine until a name can be found for a thing, or its duplication…

O’Connor’s Polka

I’m sure I’ve seen this as "The Hayden Fancy", but where? Hold on, just found it: it’s in one of Sully’s session books. He got it from the Tulla Ceili Band.

Hayden’s Fancy

I also know this polka as "Hayden’s Fancy" but I learnt it off the Danny O’Mahony and Michael O’Raghallaigh album "As it happened".

Posted by .

Re: Gan Ainm

Hi tinulac, do you have any information to share with us about your sources for these tunes?
This one I know as O’Connor’s thesession.org/tunes/2097
Brailsford