John Brosnan’s polka

I thought this great polka was already posted on this site, but it seems not. (Sorry if I’m wrong.) I learned it from Hammy Hamilton’s flute playing, while a very similar version of it was also recorded by Lunasa. Brosnan himself recorded a slightly different version in D major.

I remember the sleeve notes of Brosnan’s recording say it originally comes from the playing of John O‘Leary or Padraig O’Keeffe.

Also played in D.
I thought it was already posted here ( in D )…

I love this tune.

Nell Fee’s is a frequently heard session tune in my area. I first heard it at one of my first Park East sessions adter Milwaukee’s Irish Fest. Usually played in D major, Bantry Bay does it in E major in an interesting arrangement along with Mairi’s Wedding on our CD, Set The Sails.

I’ve come across several recordings of this tune The ABBEY CEILI BAND call it Dan Callahans and Seamus Creagh recorded it with Aidan Coffey and called it Johnny O’leary’s. To complicate things even more Timmy McCarthy( the set dance teacher) plays a four part version of this. He says it was written by Johnny Brosnan. It has become a popular tune at sessions in Toronto.

D major setting of the tune John Brosnan himself recorded:

K: Dmaj
D2DB|AFFB|AFDE|FEEF|
D2DB|AFFB|AFEF|1 DA,B,C:|2 D2D2||
d2cd|BAFA|d2cd|B2Bc|
d2cd|BAFB|AFEF|D2D2:|
d2e2|f2fe|d2Bc|d2dA|
Bc/B/ AF|Bc/B/ AF|AFEF|D2D2:|

I’ve come across this tune in Carlow, played in D as noted by Slainte and called the Brosna Polka No.2.

I posted another polka associated with John Brosnan, which might be called Brosna No.1: https://thesession.org/tunes/4824

Why might it be called Brosna No. 1?

Here’s a Gmaj version https://thesession.org/tunes/3835

The Dmaj version got posted https://thesession.org/tunes/4430

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on October 20th 2008 by ceolachan.
~ /tunes/9022

Rescuing my own duplication ~ 😏

X: 3
T: Johnny O’Leary’s
T: John Brosnan’s
T: Newmarket, The
T: etc…
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Gmaj
|: D EF |\
G2 Ge | dB Be | dB GG/A/ | BA AB/A/ |
G>F Ge | dB Be | dB AB/A/ | G :|
|: d ef |\
ga/g/ fd | ed BG | ga/g/ f/e/d | e2 ef |
g2 f2 | ed BG | A>^G AB/A/ | G :|
|: A B/c/d |\
g2 a^g/a/ | b>c’ ba | gf ef | g2 gd |
eg/e/ dB | eg/e/ dB | dB AB/A/ | G :|

~ another take on the C-part,
avoiding the high c’ & other possibilities ~

|: A Bd |\
g2 a2 | b2- ba | g>f ef | g2- gd |
e2 dB | eg/e/ dB | dB AF | G :|

X: 4
T: Johnny O’Leary’s
T: John Brosnan’s
T: Newmarket, The
T: etc…
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Dmaj
|: A,2 |\
D>C DB | AF- F>B | AF DE | FE EF/E/ |
D2 DB | AF FB | AF EF | D2 D :|

|: F/A/ |\
d2 cA | BA F/G/A | de/d/ c d/c/ | B2 Bc |
d2 c2 | BA FD | AF EF | D2- A :|

|: F/A/ |\
d2 ed/e/ | f2 fe | dA Bc | d2 dA |
Bd/B/ AF | Bd/B/ AF | GF EF | D2- D :|

This is my first tune setting. It’s a nice, flowing polka.

The tune is generally known as Nell Fees, or John Brosnans ,they used to be known as Padraig oKeefes

As given to me by Tom Lockney, who got it from Mike Gregory, who transcribed it from a CD by Creagh & Coffey.

This is John Brosnan’s, not West Kerry.

Here is the John Brosnan’s polka : https://thesession.org/tunes/3835
Here is the West Kerry polka that is played by Lunasa after the John Brosnan’s polka : https://thesession.org/tunes/3226

Another tune from:
Lets Have A Session,
Continuing The Tradition,
A Second Compilcation Of Traditional Irish Music,
Settings Selected And Arranged By Kathleen Harte.

It’s pretty close to this setting of Nell Fee’s, but with part of the A Part missing:
https://thesession.org/tunes/3835#setting4430

I edited the setting as I noticed a mistake and I have now confirmed that this is a setting of John Brosnan’s.

This is my recollection of Nell Fee’s as played by a box player Sean from Kerry who used to show up occasionally at sessions in South East London very many years ago and would treat us to a few sets of polkas and slides when the time was right. His rendering of Nell Fee’s has always stuck in my mind - even though by the time he got around to playing it, with the lateness of the hour and the quantity of jar there wasn’t always much of my mind left in which the tune could find a purchase.