The Flower Of The Flock reel

I wish I could remember where I learned this tune. Might’ve been off a tape of Frankie Gavin. I’ve heard an Eileen Ivers’ version and it went fast and driving: |DEGA B3 B|cABG A ~E3| etc. The way I first heard it, this was a swingy, not-too-fast Clare sort of tune, with lots of time for variations and rolls sprinkled around. That opening phrase can go a zillion ways:

|DEGA B (3BBB|cABG AGEG|
|DEGA BGGB|c2 Bc AGEG|
|DEGA BDGB|(3cdc BG A~E3
|DEGA BGBd|(3cBA BG ABGE|
you get the idea. The rest of the tune is almost as mutable. The first bars of the B Part could go:

|gdeg (3ded Bd| then add any second bar from above |
|g2 (3efg dcBd| ditto |
and so on.

This is a fairly common session tune, and it’s an easy G major tune to fall into from all those D reels out there, starting on that open D.

Martin Mulvihill did it on his Humors of Glin tape, which is no longer available.

I’d be surprised if most people here didn’t learn this from the 1st “Bothy Band” album. I know I did.

X: 1
T: Flower Of The Flock, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
|:DEGA BG GG|cABG AGEG|DEGE B2 Be|1 dBAF ~G3E:|2 dBAF ~G3e||
|~g3 e dGBG|~A3G AGfe|~g3 e d2 (3Bcd|eaag agef|
|~g3 e dGBG|AcBG AGEG|DEGE B2 Be|dBAF ~G3E||

X: 1
T: Flower Of The Flock, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
|:DEGA B~G3|cGBG AGEG|DEGD ~G3e|1 dBAD ~G3E:|2 dBAD ~G3e||
|~g3 e dGBG|~A3G AGef|~g3 e d2 (3Bcd|eaag agef|
|~g3 e dGBG|AcBG AGEA|DEGD B2 Be|dBAD ~G3E||

Matt Molloy got this tune from my father, Peadar Noone, in the summer of 1962. My Dad loved to play it at the fleadhanna (he called it a Leitrim tune) because nobody else seemed to know it at the time. To be honest, I did not much like it myself but I remember that Matt was very interested and said that he thought it was a good one. The first part was to be played once only and the ‘high part twice’. I noted the tune in my manuscript at the time, Reel no. 11. Dad preferred to call it by its Gaelic name, ‘Plur na dTread’ Beir beannacht. Miceal Noone.

My first acquaintance with this tune was on an old 78 by Joe Derrane for Copley Records. I has been re-released as Irish Accordion by Joe Derrane. If you like precision & excitement you will love the recording.

is as played by Róisín McDonald, Aoife Donnnelly and Sheila Rooney:
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_259_1_whistles
(The dots for their setting of the 2nd tune are given right there.)

These appear to me to be one and the same reel …

From Sliabh Luachra, Padraig O’Keeffe passed this tune onto at least two of his pupils. This version is from Dan Herlihy’s book (2003) of POK manuscripts (page 36 tune 3). He called it Mourne Mountains. There is another setting in ITMA in the McAuliffe collection, tune 29, titled Flower of the Flock.

I would say that when Martin Wynne was composing his very reel in 1935, this tune might give him a fain hint of the melody tho.