McIntyre’s Fancy jig

I picked up this tune from my friend who heard it at gaelic roots, those are his chords. Really cool tune nice pentatonic thing in the B-part.

This tune is not Siobhan O‘Donnells I think. The above tune can be found on mike McGoldricks album, but just listen to the Blazin’ Fiddles version or the Lunasa version and hear the obvious difference

When there is a person who writes a bunch of tunes, there is usually many tunes that go by the persons name. This may not be the “Siobhan O’Donnell’s” that your familier with, but I know of two others that might be the tune you’re after.

This is Siobhan O` Donnell`s no 2. It can be found on Karen Tweeds “Drops of spring water”.There is also a Siobhan O` Donnells no.1.She plays it before no 2.

Source: Rory Goldrick
Transcription: Gian Marco Pietrasanta

I am just thinking about to post this tune, but a little bit late.

Many tunes have several names, but this tune is called Custy’s, Karen Tweed’s, and John Brady’s at once! I guess this is originally John Brady’s composition, and Mary Custy learned it from Karen Tweed (the piano-accordeon player from Northamptonshire), and finally it was handed down to Michael MacGoldrick.

Here is the version in Am, played by Sharon Shannon and Tommy Peoples.

|:ced AGE|GAB A2 d|eag ecd|eAB AGE|
ced AGE|~G3 Gcd|eaa ged|cAG A3 :|
|:a3 ged|edg edc|AcA GAc|dec deg|
aeg dec|AcA GEE|cde ged|cAG A3 :|

Great tune, though I’m still struggling with it on the whistle. Personally I love to play it slowly and smoothly.

Sorry, I made a mistake in the previous post.

Sharon Shannon and Tommy Peoples’s version in Am is actually:
cde AGE|GAB A2 d|eag ecd|eAB AGE|
cde AGE|~G3 Gcd|eaa ged|cAG A3 :|
|:a2a ged|edg edc|AcA GAc|dec deg|
aeg dec|AcA GEE|cde ged|cAG A3 :|

Wasn’t this composed by Siobhan O’Donnell, and Mary Custy got it off her??

I’m not sure if it’s really John Brady’s composition. It is possible that what John Williams recorded in “Steams” is the real John Brady’s and it has been confused with this “Custy’s,” which is a similar but different tune.

To correct my mistake in the previous post, the setting is not in Am but Ador. Sorry for my ignorance.

I thought Maire Breathnach wrote it …it’s one of Mike Goldricks favourites …check out most of his CDs and you here it somewhere as far back as Toss The Feathers Day’s..

This tune was composed by John Brady, flute player, from Offaly, Ireland during the summer of 1983. It is called McIntyre’s Fancy after his wife’s niece because she liked the tune as it was being composed. It can be heard on the Beauties of Autumn, the LP by the Longridge ceili band, published by Comhaltas in 1983.

This tune was written by John Brady, flute player from Offaly during the summer of 1983. It was originally written in Amin. and started with a high A2 instead of the usual Cnatural D. Siobhan O’Donnell learned it from Karen Tweed who learned if from Attracta Brady, John’s daughter, in the mid 80s.

Thank you for the info, fiddler and fluter. Good to know the “correct” title. Now we see it’s recorded as Siobhan O’Donnell’s No.2 by Karen Tweed, Karen Tweed’s by Mary Custy, Custy’s by Michael McGoldrick… Funny sequence. But I think it’s widely circulated as John Brady’s as well. Sharon Shannon recorded it with Tommy Peoples under the title.

So, this is Michael McGoldrick’s Bm version of this one: https://thesession.org/tunes/819

I thought it was ‘The lump of pudding’ thats what some friends from London call it. Could be wrong - I’m pretty dreadful with names.

For “alternative” titles of this tune, see: https://thesession.org/tunes/1204#comment67845

Hi, I’ve just recorded my first album and I’m trying to sort the copyrighting etc - the tune which Lunasa have recorded as Siobhan O‘Donnell’s has another name on here, and is listed as composed by John Brady. However, on the Lunasa album it says it was composed by Siobhan O’Donnell, who apparently holds copyright with PRS/MCPS.

Does anyone have concrete information regarding the origins or copyrighting of this tune? I don’t want to pay copyright on it as Siobhan O’Donnell’s if I can just call it the John Brady name and avoid paying!

Thanks a million, Tize a.k.a Patricia!

Tize, is it the reel on the band’s first recording? I think nobody attributes it to John Brady. Some of John Brady’s compositions seem associated with Siobhan O’Donnell, but they’re jigs.

Sorry, the reel might be another tune by Brady: https://thesession.org/tunes/729

Tize, I know this tune also as “McIntyre’s Fancy”…..but I don’t know if it can’t help you.

I think Tize is not talking about this jig.

I got an email from Siobhan O’Donnell who’d like to clear up the origin of this tune:

“Have just logged on to your website for the first time to find a discussion about myself with regards to a certain jig which was originally John Brady’s. Just to put the record straight I learnt this jig years ago from Karen Tweed/Piano Box and Michael McGoldrick rang to say he had used it on his album and had attributed it to me although I made it clear to him I had not written it. He also banged on about copyright which I have never claimed as the tune is not mine!”

See: https://thesession.org/tunes/819#comment200098

I got my license for copyright giving me permission to record, and this tune was registered as belonging to Mary Custy…. and thats the legal position!

Read the comment by “feadog” above. Several other sources also attribute this jig to John Brady.

Here’s the Bmin version played by Cian on Three Shouts From A Hill.

def BAF | ABc B2B | fba fec | fBc BAF |
def BAF | ABc B2B | fba feB | cBA B2B :|:
b3 afe | fea fec | B2B ABd | efd efa |
bfa efd | BdB AFA | deg f2e |1 dBA B2B :|2 dec B3 ||

Yeah it’s a weird version that, isn’t it? I don’t think I like that setting as much, but the playing’s great.

Here’s the composer’s daughter Attracta Brady playing this jig: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_227_1_attracta_brady_jigs

Played here by Clare McLaughlin, Martin Hunter, Malcolm Stitt and Mairead McManus. It’s the last tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF6ueP2BurM

play video

…….and here it is by Tamalin. The second tune http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyMh1l3o4xw

play video

This is the name given the tune by its composer, John Brady. But don’t take my word for it, let John’s daughter, Attracta Brady, explain the whole thing to you.

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_227_1_attracta_brady_jigs

This jig is the perfect little jewel!

And how could anyone dare interfere with it? I apologise to the composer for having cropped it a wee bit to suit the Highland pipes and give me extra opportunity to play it -albeit in an addled form!

X: 1
T: McIntyre’s Fancy
C: John Brady (Arr. Birlib)
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Ador
cde AAA|GAB A3|eag edc|eAA BAG|
cde dcA|G3 Gcd|ega ged|cAG A3:|
a3 ged|edg edc|A3 GAc|dec deg|
aeg dec|A3 GGG|cde ged|cAG A3:||

Note; a 6th-less Hexatonic tune, verging on the Pentatonic mode.

Setting #4 is the version as played by Attracta Brady in that comhaltas-clip.
(Starting with a high a in the very first bar, but then she always plays the c there.)
And yeah, this jig is cool!

Here’s the first jig of this set:
https://thesession.org/tunes/3634#setting20747

June McCormack’s version. Enjoy !
https://youtu.be/F4VqwHnLcUE

play video

A version from the 2018 release “The Winding Stair” by Austin-based band The Here & Now. They list it as “The Peacock’s Feather”.

From the playing of Celtic Crossroads.

Second tune in their set titled “The Jigs”, on their album “The Unique Irish Music Experience”.

If Brady’s “McIntyre’s Fancy” is transposed down to Edor and then changed to Emix
by sharping the G’s, then the first two bars are nearly identical with those of
Finbarr Dwyer’s “Ahearne’s Egg” https://thesession.org/tunes/4440 .
I wonder which tune was composed first, viz. was Ahearne’s Egg composed before summer of 1983?

Both are great jigs. Brady’s is easier to play!

From Belgian band Snaarmaarwaar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHm3zf5e_s

play video

My version