Martin O’Connor’s polka

~ another fine traditional gan ainm given the name of the talented musician who recorded it for us all to enjoy…

Knowing that some folks might come to this the first time without foreknowledge, I have this general practice of giving choice, alternate takes of measures where possible. This tune is very trad in it’s agreement between phrases, for example, in parts A (bars 1-8) & B (bars 1-8) measures 1& 2 mirror measures 5 & 6, and further agreement occurs between the two parts with their final measures, 8 & 8… I try to give a ‘usual’ way with it in the first four measure phrase, bars 1-4, and then some alternate choices in 5-8. I don’t tend to give ‘embelishments’ / ‘ornamentation’ but melodic variations. Here’s an example of ‘agreement’ in the same tune, part-A, the variation for measure 8 can be used in part-B too:
|:
FE ED/E/ | FD D>E | FE EA | dB B>A |
FE ED/E/ | FD D>E | FE cd | B2- B2 :|

I’ll return with one or two more ways with the polka…

Good one, “ceolachan”. This comes from Track 3 here:

https://thesession.org/recordings/1056

A great set of polkas, but with no names. Anybody help ?

Thanks Kenny, I’d meant to make that link. Unfortunately I haven’t my copy of this excellent recording here… I also haven’t yet finished checking the various polka notations I’ve got scattered around here either. Another name may surface, but there were a lot of ‘gan ainms’ in the realm of polkas and slides, over time many have attracted names to themselves, some just in the final wrap up of an album when the producer or someone decides there’s too many tunes of the same name…

Track 3: polkas ~ The Rattling Bog / McElroy’s Fancy (Pat Horgan’s #2) / Gan Ainm (Martin O’Connor’s)

The Rattlin’ Bog
Submitted on March 12th 2002 by hillfolk.
https://thesession.org/tunes/583

The Glenside / McElroy’s Fancy / Pat Horgan’s #2
Submitted on February 5th 2002 by J?Fr?/a>.
https://thesession.org/tunes/534

K: e minor
|: e>d |
BA AG/A/ | BG G2 | BA g>a | ge ed |
BA A>A | BG G>G | BA gg | e2 :|
|: ed |
Bg g>a | ba ab/a/ | g2 g>a | ge ed |
Bg ga | ba ab | ga/g/ fd | e2 :|

Key signature: D major
Submitted on January 23rd 2002 by whoosis.
https://thesession.org/tunes/515

There was this tune I couldn’t let go of that followed on from this polka, an old friend, and this is it. Check out the A-part. However, there is also a slide related to these two and the melody they share, at least in part…

|: F2 E EDE | F2 D DED | F2 E EFA | d2 e fdA | ~

Who’s feelin‘ ’tick? Yes, Major, I musn’t let the minor rule my passions, scale wise or chord wise… The e minor above can be finished off with | e2 g2 || and the b minor with | B2 d2 ||…

~ minus the possibilities of z… ‘N’ = generic note…

Within the measure:
| N4 | = | N2- N2 | ~
| N2- N>N | ~ | N2- NN | ~ | NN- N2 | ~ | NN- N>N | ~ | NN- NN |

Within the beat:
N2 ~ NN ~ N>N ~ NN/N/ ~ N/N/N ~ N/N/N/N/

Yeah, well, if you want a real laugh, I put this in the comments for “The Rolling Waves”… Maybe I should have made this the one for slides & jigs… 😏

Submitted on July 11th 2006 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/5954

I should explain, Al Brown was bewailing the discovery that flings can be reels and reels can be flings, and that sort of thing, and saying how it was confusing. So ~ along with melodies that can be reels or jigs, this additional confusion, polkas - slides, has been added for his consideration and befuddlement…

This polka is actually a version of the first two parts of Allistrum’s March - the D version which is #1 on this page: https://thesession.org/tunes/2136
So I call it “Allistrum’s Polka”.

From the playing of Killieburne Brae.

Clarification; this tune is closer to /515 (as mentioned by ceolachan) than /2136 (as mentioned by hnorbeck).
As always, a profusion of names, versions and interpretations cause confusion. I call /515 The lonesome jig when I play it as a slow…slide and Maguire’s kick when I play it full tilt.
I’m happy to call this polka Martin O’Connor’s from his first class rendition on The Connachtman’s Rambles album of 1979.
I am curious to know where he got it from or did he have a hand in shaping it …does anyone know?