The Walls Of Liscarrol jig

Yes, the Walls of Liscarroll is a lovely jig and I’ve been enjoying playing the standard Edor version of it. But I couldn’t resist learning Harry Bradley’s unusual setting. It goes like this:

K: Edor
f|edB BAF|ABA FAB|AFA dAF|ABc d2f|
edB BAF|ABA FAB|AFA dAF|EFE E2:|
z|ede fdB|dBA FAB|ABd efg|fed e2f|
gfe fed|edB d2B|AFA dAF|EFE E2:|

It’s an amazingly tasty version, which I couldn’t stop playing this afternoon. I don’t know how about on other instruments, but it’s great fun to play on flute and whistle.

I’m not 100% sure of my transcription, but I believe it’s almost correct. Listen to his playing of the tune by yourself though this page: http://www.claddaghrecords.com/www/product.asp?pID=79&cID=15

He rang me about 3 years ago at around 7 pm to chat (3 am his time I think) because he had some kind of temporary amazing phone deal. He talked a bit about this tune and said he had just found a version he really liked in the Roche Collection that was different from the common one. I’m assuming that’s the setting he then recorded.

Yeah, he wrote his version is based on the one found in Roche Collection. I don’t have any tune collection, but does the collection include somewhat unusual versions of the tunes? I’m just curious.

I like to play the last phrase of each part as:

EDD D3

And I tend to hold those high d notes at the beginning of the second part:

d2d ecA

I think this is pretty much how it’s played on the album The Session by Na Connerys.

K: Dmix
dcA AGE | GED D2E | GEE cEE | GAB cde |
dcA AGE | GED D2E | GEE cEE | EDD D3:|
d2d ecA | d2d ecA | GEE c2c | GAB cde |
[1d2d ecA | d2d ecA | GEE cEE |EDD D3:|
[2dcA AGE | GED D2E | GEE cEE |EDD D3||

Transcribed from Elizabeth Crotty’s EXCELLENT album. I love it to death. I’m going on a "I like older albums like woah" kick for a bit and oh man… I just need more. I love it. LOVE IT!!!!

Cheers,
Armand

On "The Lonesome Touch," Martin Hayes calls this the Garden of Butterflies. I have no idea if that’s an accurate title.

No, the correct title is "The Walls of Liscarroll": https://thesession.org/tunes/232 It’s normally played in Edor. Clare musicians sometimes play in a weird key though.

I know this one from the sessions at the Victory Cafe in Toronto, and it’s in O’Neill’s in the wrong key (too many sharps), as The Walls of Liscarroll. I like it with c#s between the d’s in the B part.

http://www.n-ireland.co.uk/genealogy/placenames/placenamesl.htm
gives the etymology of Liscaroll as ‘Cearbhall’s ring-fort’
The name (Cerball) sounds a bit like Carolus (Charles) but probably comes from the Gaelic cearbh: "hacking with a weapon".

It is situated in Co.Cork

i play it in e mixolydian, a version from the armagh piper’s club, tin whistle book 2:

K: Edor
e|edB BAF|AFE E2F|AFF dFF|ABc def|
edB BAF|AFE E2F|AFF DFF|FED E2:|
e|eBe fdB|eBe fdB|AFF dFF|ABc def|
[1 gfe fed|edB d2B|AFA dAF|EFE E2:|
[2 edB BaF|AFE E2F|AFF DFF|FED E2||

I tend to hold the first high D in the b part , and double-stop with the D string. Sounds quite exciting

X: 1
T: Walls Of Liscarrol, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmix
|:d|dcA AGE | GEE D2E | GEE cEE | GAB cde |
dcA AGE | GEE D2E | GEE cEE | d3 D2:||
|:dB/c/d ecA | dB/c/d ecA | GEE cEE | GAB cde |
dB/c/d ecA | dB/c/d ecA | GEE cEE |D3 D3 |
|:dB/c/d ecA | dB/c/d ecA | GEE cEE | GAB cde
dcA AGE | GEE D2E | GEE cEE |D3 D3 |

This is really a beautiful tune. Mrs. Crotty blows my mind.

Am I confusing as I am no accompanist at all, but I think that it can’t be Dmix just because the tune ends (the resolution tending) on a D and is written with one sharp (key of G). Why one sharp as there is, in the herein transcriptions, no F sharp at all ? (try to introduce a variation with an F sharp and an F natural : which sounds better ?) These could as well have been written with no sharp, thus in the key of C. And D being the second degree of the C scale and the resolution note, you might logically expect that it is a D dorian, not D mixolydian, 5th degree in a G scale . And that is exactly what happens with the other transcriptions in Edor resolving on E, 2nd degree in the scale of D (2 sharps).
No matter what the tune ends with, when it’s dorian, it’s dorian !
I join my setting in Ador that can be played on a D flute as the other 2. So you can play a nice set beginning in Edor, continuing in Ddor and ending in Ador, or whatever combination of the 3 !-)

Transcribed from the Chieftains, The Chieftains 1.

I am just learning this lovely jig on the flute and i wonder which of this settings are the most common way to play it on the flute and whistle in sessions?

The first setting is close enough to how I’ve played in in sessions. There’s a number of ways to play the beginning of the B part:
~d3 ecA|~d3 ecA
d3 ecA|d3 ecA
d2d ecA|d2d ecA
dcd ecA|dcd ecA
dcd ecA|d=fd ecA
…and so on.

https://youtu.be/RGfoVtB6pBY Nice version on a german tradtional instrument the waldzither . Ususally tuned in open C , C G C E G . Fun to play , I bought one for 40 Euros in a secondhand store in North Germany last month

play video

Nice version also from Gwendal :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUJ_g-sF2sE

play video

The B part looks a bit like that :
http://img.qupu114.com/2016/0525/2016052514003412020.jpg

Indeed there are tons of versions of the B part !

More like this one :
http://www.folktunefinder.com/tunes/195029

This is the version that members of Danu play. It appears on their album Up in the Air.

Here’s my recording of Micho Russell’s version of this tune. Micho actually calls it "The Little Black Pig" and it can be found on the album "Rarities & Old Favorites 1949–1993", a compilation of tunes from Micho.

https://youtu.be/HNXaYbC1lG8

play video

X:1
T:Little Black Pig (The)
M:6/8
R:Jig
K:Dmix
|:ABA DFA|ded dcA|GEE cEE|GEG c2c|
A2A DFA|ded dcA|GEE cEE|DED D2G:||
|:d2d ecA|dcd dcA|GEE cEE|GEG c2c|
dcd ecA|d2d dcA|GEE cEE|DED D2G:||