Finlay’s Delight reel

From Mary Macnamara’s Blackberry Blossom

This is aka the Galway Rambler, is it not?

It’s definitely the Galway Rambler.

Once again, it may be a local variant, though why obvious tunes get other names, seems strange.

You can see Kitty Hayes playing this tune with Eoin O’Neill: http://www.custysmusic.com/mall/CustysTraditionalMusicShop/kitty_and_eoin.htm It’s short but very delightful.

Here’s a transcription in D based closely on Mary MacNamara’s concertina playing on her Blackberry Blossom cd (which seems to have this in Eb). The liner notes call it Finlay’s Delight and imply that this is the title Joe Bane gave it. She also acknowledges that Galway Rambler is the more common title, and that this tune also goes by the name of Lord Wellington’s and Paddy Findlay’s Favourite.

X: 1
T: Galway Rambler, The
T: Finlay’s Delight
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: D
DDAD BDAD|DFAF EDB,C|D3E FEFA|B2 AF EDB,C|
DDAD BDAD|DFAF EDB,C|D3E FEFA|B2 AF E2 Bc||
d3f e3f|defd edBc|d2 df e2 ef|dBAF E3A|
defd defd|defd (3efe de|fdef dBAB|dBAF EDB,C||

So, based on that setting, here’s one way of bringing it back into G:

X: 1
T: Galway Rambler, The
T: Finlay’s Delight
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K:G
G2 dG eGdG|GBdB AGEF|~G3A BABd|egdB AGEF|
G2 dG eGdG|GBdB AGEF|GFGA BABd|egdB A2 ef||
~g3b a2 ab|gabg agef|gfgb a2 ab|gedB A2 ef|
gabg gabg|gabg (3aba ga|bgab gede|gedB AGEF||