Fred Finn’s reel

I just heard this for the first time at a session yesterday, and really liked it. Lo and behold, here it is. This is one of those quirky little coincidences that help make life so very entertaining. Thank you–what a lovely christmas surprise! Cassie

This is the first tune in a set of three in Live From Matt Molloy’s Pub.

It is followed by Castle Kelly and another, The Pretty Girl or The Dark Haired Girl or some such thing. I like the set though i normally play Castle Kelly with something lighter, like the Bucks of Oranmore.

A great reel which must have come from Sligo fiddler Fred Finn who was part of the legendary duo along with flute player, Peter Horan. However, we usually play Castle Kelly after the Chicago reel and follow it with the Humours of Ballyconnell which is how Clare’s Tulla C

In her collection, “A Drop In The Ocean”, which I’m currently converting from notes to abc, Josephine Keegan has this tune as “Peadar O’Loughlin’s” and her setting is as follows:

X:1
T:Peadar O’Loughlin’s
M:4/4
R:Reel
K:D
|:(3ABA FB ABde|fgec d2cd|BE (3EFE GFGB|AF (3FGF DFBF|
(3ABA FB ABde|fgec d2cd|BA^GB ABde|faeg fdd2:||
|:fdad bdaf|dfaf fede|fbbf b3a|fbba feeg|
fd (3ded bdfe|dfaf fedB|BA^GB ABde|faeg fdd2:||

The next tune in the set “Live from Matt Malloy’s Pub”, preceded by Fred Finn’s and Castle Kelly, is the Red-haired lass, if my memory serves me correctly.

I wonder how the fellow fluters play the second part of this fairly common reel. I’m such an awful beginner and can’t play it right.

Biography by Oisín McDiarmada: http://homepage.eircom.net/~fredfinn/Home.html
Portrait by J.B. Valley: http://www.charlesgilmore.com/searchdetails.asp?SearchString=vallely&Offset=7

Slainte’s links:

The Fred Finn Branch of Comhaltás Ceoltóirí Éireann
Music classes: Ballintogher / Maugheraboy, County Sligo

“Our Branch was founded on Friday March 20th 1987 and
was named in memory of Fred Finn, the renowned fiddle player from Killavil, who died a few months previously.

Fred Finn (1919-1986) remains arguably the most significant Sligo fiddle-player to have emerged from the post-Coleman era.

Born and raised in Killavil, an area renowned as the birthplace of Michael Coleman, Fred Finn spent most of his life in his native Sligo, during which he contributed enormously to the rich musical tradition of the surrounding locality. Fred’s father, Michael, a fiddle-playing contemporary of Coleman, was undoubtedly an early musical influence, though Fred played frequently with other notable local fiddlers such as Martin Wynne, Dick and John Brennan at the music-gatherings which were then commonplace in rural Ireland.

The late 1950s and early 1960s, in line with the proliferation of the ceili band, saw Fred Finn play for a period of time with the Glenview Ceili Band. Later, in 1972, along with the members of the Coleman Country Ceili Band ~ “

A drawing of Fred Finn by Tom O’Rourke
http://homepage.eircom.net/~fredfinn/Images/Image1.htm

“Fred Finn, Fiddler” ~ a portrait, oil on canvas, by J B Vallely

is it known by any other names ? thanks

https://thesession.org/tunes/452

and i suppose you could google it too

Maggie’s Morning Nap, according to the Paddy O’Brien tune collection.

Which Paddy O’Brien? ~ What collection?

It’s not here ~
“The Compositions of Paddy O’Brien”

It’s not here ~
http://www.ceolas.org/pub/tunes/tunes.pdf/POB.pdf

???

Paddy with a pulse.

http://www.chulrua.com/tunehome.html

“Both Brendan Breathnach and Bernard Flaherty (Trip to Sligo) maintain in their respective publications that the original name for this tune was “Berkshire Heights.”” – Fiddler’s Companion.

Yes, I’ve seen it listed that way several times too…

Ah wbajzek, that Paddy O’Brien and that “Tune Collection” ~ “For only $150, plus shipping and handling” ~ “ten CDs in a handy leather wallet, and a fully indexed 124-page booklet with stories and background information on every tune.” Obviously, with over 3000 tunes in his head he has forgotten to do the background checks on some of them… I say this with sympathy if disappointment in the renaming… He would not be alone in either case… 😏

That video of Fred Finn is amazing - were be and John Carty separated at birth? Antone know the name of the first tune?

i am learning trad music and i love it but i am havin a problem understanding the tabs and chords.i really want to learn this real but i dont understand how the chords work on the abc section.
|: A3F ABde | fdec d2cd | BEE2 ~G3B | AFF2 dFAF |
~A3F ABde | fdec d2cd | BAGB ABde | fbeg fdd2 :|
|: fdad bdaf | dfaf gfed | fbba ~b3a | fbba fede |
fdad bdaf | dfaf gfed | BAGB ABde | faeg fdd2 :|

could anyone explain how this works our maybe could make it easy for me to understand it,so i can learn and it might help me with others.

thanks again

barry john

I here it’s the second tune here by Barry Kerr and Paul and Martin Meehan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yeskyeCy1w&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

play video

X:1
T: Fred Finn´s
M:4/4
R:Reel
K:D
|: A3F ABde | fdec d2ed | BEE2 ~G3B | AFF2 dFAF |
~A3F ABde | fdec d2ed | BAGB ABde | fbeg fdd2 :|
|:~f3 a agag|f2af fede|fbba ~b3a | fbba f ~e3 |
~f3 a agag|f2af fedB|BAGB ABde| faef ~d3 e :|

X:1
T: Fred Finn´s
M:4/4
R:Reel
K:D
|: A3F ABde | fdef d2ed | BEE2 ~G3B | AFF2 dFAF |
~A3F ABde | fdef d2ed | BAGB ABde | faeg fdde :|
|:~f3 a agag|f2af fede|fbba ~b3a | fbba f ~e3 |
~f3 a agag|f2af fedB|BAGB ABde| faeg fdde :|

But just to put things straight, Fred Finn’s is NOT the first tune in any set on the “Live at Matt Molloy’s” -album. Nor is it played with Castle Kelly or The Red Haired Lass. It is, however, second in a set of Over the Moor to Maggie, Fred Finn’s and The Hunter’s House.

This tune is on the cd the wide world over by the chieftans as live from matt molloys and i wanted to know what the 2 tunes which come after it are called?

As played on Comhaltas’s “Foinn Seisiun 3”

In defense of Paddy O’Brien, he says in the notes to his tune collection
that Fred Finn called this reel “Maggie’s Morning Nap” and when hid did so
he had a sly expression as if he knew some secrets about Maggie.
I don’t suppose Fred Finn called the reel “Fred Finn’s”.

https://youtu.be/GDsGXOrzfF8?t=149

play video

I’m trying to learn the Paul Brady version on guitar. I can usually figure things out to a degree but I’m struggling with this. Does anyone know what tuning his guitar is in or know of any tabs please.

Played by Fred himself - audio on “Youtube” :
https://youtu.be/Cua6BSaZqDk

play video

Just wondered if anyone knows the original composer of this tune, assuming that Fred got it from somewhere else and it’s not his own creation ? (Or did I miss something?)

based on version X:1, easier for banjo etc.