Ur-Chnoc Chein Mhic Cainte waltz

Transcribed from Gerry O’Connor’s CD "Journeyman." It is really in the key of Bflat, but Gm was the only way to get two flats in key signature.

A poem/song by Peadar O Doirnin, 18th century. aka "The Fair Hill of Killin" - Killin Hill is 2 miles N of Dundalk, Co. Louth.

see discussion:
https://thesession.org/discussions/3092#comment61027

I think that we should have all the keys, with the wright name, even when both B flat and G minor have two flats in the key, we know it’s not the same.

Does any one know the literal translation of the title? Is it "The Fair Hill of Killin?" And if so why isn’t Killin in the Title?
This tune is in the Session tunes by G. Cotter and the Whistle and Sing book by E.Jordan. Both published by Ossian. The Cotter version is very similar to what we have here and the Jordan version not so much. The Jordan version does have words in Gaelic or Irish. I have played this one for while and after much sanding and varnishing have become rather fond of it.

Here are the Gaelic lyrics along with the English translation as sung by Aoife Ni Fearraigh
http://www.geocities.com/celticlyricscorner/fhearraigh/aoife.htm#urchnoc
It’s beautifully sung by Aoife on her latest self-titled CD. http://www.aoife.ie/

I should probably defer to someone who knows more, but I think the translation of the title is ‘The Fair Hill of Cian Mac Cainte." The Hill of Killen is where the legendary cave or fort of Mac Cainte is located.

I learned this tune from the Tradtional Tin Whistle Tutor book by G. Cotter. A few of my friends and I have put harmony to it as well and it has been a showpiece for our ceilidh sets for years. I never heard that it had lyrics—most of the people I know who play it are doing well not to butcher the Irish name to say nothing of the lyrics themselves—and am pleased to learn that it does. I’ll be sharing them around—once I find a phonetic transliteration.

The sheet music shows the key signature notes as E flat and C flat ? . As we all know , there is no such named note as C flat, its B.. This is very confusing for people who are struggling to learn to read the dots and may not be familiar with all the theory and are trying to.transcribe sheet music ,= to another key or to ABC.. Maybe the error could be fixed?

It is a Bb, it’s just a low-res image of the sheet music. Copy the ABC and take it over to the Tune-o-Tron to see a better quality version http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html

Beautiful, plaintive, restrained version on the Humours of Lissadel album by Seamus and Manus McGuire.

most definitely one of the classic gems of the genre…thanks, Peadar!

Recorded by Seamus McGuire · Manus McGuire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXAK8AC-HxI

play video