The Hornless Cow reel

This is straight out of O’Neill’s (No. 686) and a tune I always play when I page though the reels. I was initially attracted to the name, but love the flowing nature of this tune. I never hear anyone play it in sessions.

Does anyone else play this tune?

I play this tune on the fiddle, flute and whistles and it’s definitely one of my favorite tunes, for the reason you noted above. It’s a Donegal tune and it’s played pretty fast. It’s a good song for anyone’s repertoire. Kurt

Yes, I do, but finding someone else who knows it isn’t easy! I like to put Templehouse Reel right after it.

Dowd’s No.9: https://thesession.org/tunes/761

Find another transcription under a different name here https://thesession.org/tunes/4142

Shannon Heaton plays this on one of her albums.

X:2 From the piping of Liam Walsh: https://archive.org/details/LiamWalshTheFairyReelTheOneHornedCowTheLimestoneRock The Suffering Gaels recording mentioned there may be purchased here: http://www.crumac.com/music/291 Transcription courtesy Vancouver BC piper John Walsh.

Thanks. I enjoyed that!

I wrote this comment in the other location for this tune under "John Blessing’s": This tune appears in the Francis Reynolds manuscript of Gaigue, Ballinamuck, Co. Longford written in the last quarter of the 19th century. His version is similar to the one synonymous with the flute player John Blessing of Aughavas, Co. Leitrim. Given the proximity of Blessing to Gaigue the title in the manuscript was probably the one used in the region by local musicians.