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Brian O’Lynn jig

Also known as Brian O’Lynn’s, Bryan O’Lynn, Bryan O’Lynn’s, The Cockled Old Man, Hitler’s Downfall, John Maloney’s, The Magpie In The Tree, The Planting Stick, Scully Casey’s.

There are 48 recordings of a tune by this name.

A tune by this name has been recorded together with The Humours Of Glendart (lots of times), The Woods Of Old Limerick (a few times), Pay The Reckoning (a few times), Banish Misfortune (a few times) and The Pipe On The Hob (a few times).

Brian O’Lynn has been added to 25 tune sets.

Brian O'Lynn has been added to 331 tunebooks.

Download ABC

Eleven settings

X: 1
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|:cAd cAG|EDE GAB|cBc BAG|
EAA ~A2B|cAd cAG|EDE GAB|
cde =fed|1 cAA A2B:|2 cAA A2f||
gea ged|cAB cde|eaa age|
ed^c def|geg fed|cAB cde|
=fed cAG|1 EAA A2f:|2 EAA A2||
X: 2
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|:"Am"cAd cAG|"Em"EDE GAB|"Am"cAd cAG|"Am"EAA A2B|"Am"ccc cAG|
"Em"EDE GAB|"Am"cde =fed|1 "Am"cAA A2B:|2 "Am"cAA A2e/2f/2||
"Em"ggg ged|"Am"cAB cde|"Am"eaa age|"D"ed^c def|
"G"gaf ged|"Am"cAB cde|"Am"=fed cAG|"Am" EAA A2e/2f/2:|
X: 3
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
|: B |cAd cAG | E^DE GAB | cAd c2 G | Ad/c/d =fed |
cAd c2 G | EGE GAB | cde =fed | cA^G A2 :|
|: e/f/ |gag ged | cAB c2 d | eaa age | ed^c def |
gg/g/g ged | c/B/AB cde | =fed cAG | EA^G A2 :|
X: 4
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
AB|ced cAG|~E3 GAB|ced cAG|EAA [E2A2]z|
ced cAG|~E3 GAB|cde {g}=fed|cAG [E2A2]z:|
~g3 ged|cAc cde|~a2>a age|edc def|
gea ged|cAc cde|{g}=fed cAG|E[EA][EA] [E2A2]z:|
X: 5
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
cBc AAG|EcB cde|dcA ~A2 G|Ade fed|
cBc AAG|EcB cde|dcA AGE|1GED D3:|2GED D2 f||
~g3 ged|cAB ~c2 d|.e2 a age|ed^c def|
~g3 ged|cAB cde|fed cAG|EAG A2 f|
~g3 ged|cAB ~c2 d|.e2 a age|ed^c def|
gba ged|cAB cde|fed cAG|EAG A3|]
X: 6
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
AB|:cAd cAG|E3 GAB|cAd cAG|EAA A2B|
c3 cAG|E3 GAB|cde g/f/ed|cAG A2B:||
|:g3 ged|cAB c2d|e2a age|edc def|
g3 ged|cAB cde|=fed cAG|1EAA A2f:|2EAA A2B||
# Added by JACKB .
X: 7
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|: cAd cB/A/G | EDE GAB | cAd cB/A/G | EAG A2B |
cAd cB/A/G | EDE GAB | cde ged |1 cA^G A2B :|2 cA^G A2f ||
|: ~g3 ged | cAB c2d | e2a age | ed^c def |
~g3 ged | cAB cde | ged cAG |1 EAG A2f :|2 EAG A2B ||
X: 8
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Bmin
c| dBe dBA | F2 F ABc | dBe dBA | FBB B2c |
dBe dBA | F2F ABc | def gfe | dBBB2:|
|:f/g/| aba afe | dBc d2 e | fbb baf | baf e2f/g/ |
aba afe | dBc def | gfe dBA |1 FBB B2:|2 FBB B3 |]
X: 9
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|: cAd cAG | EDE GAB | cAd cAG | EAG A2B |
cAd cAG | EDE GAB | cde =fed |1 cA^G A2B:|2 cA^G A2f ||
|: gag ged | cAB c2 d | eaa age | age d2f |
gag ged | cAB cde | =fed cAG |1 EA^G A2f :|2 EA^G A2B |]
X: 10
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|: cAd cAG | ~E3 GAB | cBd cAG | EAA A2B |
cAd cAG | ~E3 GAB | cde ged |1 cAA A2B :|2 cAA A2f ||
|: ~g3 ged | cAB cde | ~a3 age | ed^c def |
gea ged | cAB cde | ged cAG |1 EAA A2f :|2 EAA A2B ||
X: 11
T: Brian O'Lynn
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
B|: cAd cAG | ~E3 GAB | cBd cAG | EAA A2B |
cAd cAG | ~E3 GAB | cde g/f/ed |1 cAG A2B :|2 cAG A2f ||
|: ~g3 ged | cAB c2d | ef/g/a age | edc def |
~g3 ged | cAB cde | g/f/ed cAG |1 EAA A2f :|2 EAA A2B ||

Nineteen comments

Good Standard

Add this to your bread and butter list. It’s pretty easy to pick up. You have quite a few opportunities to customize the tune to your own liking.

If you are playing for the dancers and they need the jig to be played slow - this one does very well.

F sharps?

Heard Liam O’Flynn playing this tune (Brian O’Lynn’s jig) on a Planxty documentary, pretty much exactly like this, but with F sharps instead of F naturals. Sounded great that way too!

Goes lovely with…

I love this tune, I first learned it off East Gaway fiddler Breda Keville. I always pay Garrett Barry’s then go into this, it works really well =] i think played slowly it sounds nicer.

Brian O’Lynn-s

This is far from being the only jig or ditty called after the hero, see: http://chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/brian_olynn.html for a vibrant demonstration!
See also: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=43706 for related Scottish songs and dots.
In Hillsborough, Co. Down, there’s a plaque by the old court house dedicated to the memory of this local -legend of a- man!

Mary Travers* better known as La Bolduc wrote and recorded a French version of the same, almost a hundred years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ySU5NTh4Ik again set to the 6/8 meter.

*Not the Mary of Peter, Paul &..!

…Bryan O’Lynn

…was now the very rare ‘Johnny Monfarleau’.

A Paddy Canny Setting

For several years I’ve been listening to mp3s from what I think was an early Paddy Canny LP, circa 1955, I think. I was listening to a medley the other day: The Luckpenny jig along with a tune which was mislabeled "Father O’Flynn". The second tune sounded so familiar, and I eventually ID-ed it as a version of Brian O’Lynn. Someone probably mis-heard the title. The recordings seemed to be home recordings, with incidental noise and talking in the background.

I think I reproduced Canny’s playing pretty well in this ABC. The setting is pretty close to the way Bobby Casey played the tune, although Casey used more unison "A"s.

Brian O’Lynn, X:5

Patrick Street’s version, as I hear it…

Patrick Street’s version

I know this version as a separate tune, Guiry’s Favourite, no. 10 in O’Neill’s. It’s very similar, but not the same tune. But a good tune anyway.

Brian O’Lynn

I love this tune because it reminds me of bagpuss

Brian O’Lynn, X:8

Taken from ‘A Fine Selection of Over 200 Irish Traditional Tunes for Sessions’, compiled by David Speers with a Forward by Matt Cranitch. A B minor version here rather than the A dorian of the other settings. Nice tune.

Brian O’Lynn, X:9

Eubonian’s setting had a nice/different variant from all of the previous settings, in the 4th bar of the B Part. So, have transposed X9 to Ador, and combined it with X8.

Re: Brian O’Lynn

^**transposed X8 and combined with X7.

Brian O’Lynn, X:10

From the playing of Sharon Knight.

Brian O’Lynn, X:11

From the playing of Jack Brennan.