Up Against The Buachaláns reel

I learned this off a borrowed tape recording of a festival session from the East U.S. coast. A banjo (I believe it’s Mick Moloney) kicks it off…I’ve left out most of the triplets he throws into the tune.

It’s pretty straightforward, except for those |a2 fa dafa| phrases that require fiddlers to cover one or two strings precisely in quick order. Until you get the swing of it, you might find it easier to play those bars as |a2 fa defa|…a way to gradually get used to the idea.

My favorite phrase in the whole tune is the little turn |GBAF GFEF| that brings you back down to the D2. For me, sometimes all it takes is a handful of notes to set a tune in my mind, and then the rest of it blossoms.

Recorde by the Eamonn Ceannt Ceili Band & the Chieftains (7?) as “Up Against The Buchalawns”

Ah, now that you mention it, yes, this does also go by that name. Dervish recorded it on Harmony Hill as “Up Against the Boughalauns.”

Mick Moloney recorded this on “Strings Attached” and called it Miss Lyon’s Fancy (a name I believe he got from Martin Mulvihill), Sully & John Keenan recorded it on “Dublin Banjos” as The Knocknagree and Noel Hill & Tony McMahon recorded it on their album, “In Knocknagree”, it’s track 13, first tune (Limerick Lassies), which it’s not, at least to my knowledge. There are a few dubious names on their other album too. I’ve also heard other names for it, but off hand I can’t think of them.
John

thats what they call this tune in clare possibly

James Morrison recorded this as Miss Lyon’s Fancy in the 1920’s, it is transcribed in Ceol Rince III and is on the new From Ballymote to Brooklyn CD.

Some people play the tune as “The New-Mown Meadows.” Isn’t it a mistake?

Slainte:

The confusion comes from the fact that Noel Hill & Tony McMahon (as mentioned above by ‘banjowalsh’) recorded it on I Gnoc na Grai - the track names given in the sleeve notes only list one tune in each of the sets, and there are no further notes given as to each of the tunes.

However somebody went to the trouble in the ‘Recordings’ section here to identify each of the tunes, so you can the complete tracklist:
https://thesession.org/recordings/904

Funny enough this particular tune (Miss Lyon’s Fancy) was mis-named “Limerick Lassies” in that track listing (as was pointed out). To come round to your original question, The New Mown Meadow is the tune they play after Miss Lyon’s Fancy. I imagine people probably just lumped the two tunes together for years and gave The New Mown Meadow as the name, not knowing which of the two tunes was actually the one.

The New Mown Meadow can be found here:
https://thesession.org/tunes/2706

Incidentally LImerick Lassies (as I know it) would be this tune:
https://thesession.org/tunes/516

All three are terrific tunes.

Now, I see. Thanks, Steph.

I believe this is the tune called “Sonny Brogan’s Favourite” on the album The Iron Man by Tommy Peoples and Daithi Sproule. Perhaps someone more qualified than I am will update the database–here, and under Recordings–if that’s correct?

A version of this tune appears on Frankie Gavin’s “Croch Suas E” album and is called “Early Breakfast”.

Go here for a discussion on what buachaláns are https://thesession.org/discussions/5181.

The ABC and the sheet music don’t match. The ABC is truncated

It’s all there. 18 bars. Perhaps you’ve pasted it into a programme that needs a bit of tweaking to display it correctly.

I’ve heard this reel played as a ‘Scottisch’ at ‘Bals Folks’ in France for the dance. I think it wasn’t played with the same 2nd part though.

In his 1986 tunebook, Martin Mulvihill gives an alternative title for this tune: “The Green Hills of Kerry”.

It’s a bit hard to find recordings of this one because most of the names don’t come up with much (or, like the name “Sonny Brogan’s”, come up with other tunes that are much more well-known).

But there’s a solid version (under the name “Miss Lyon’s Fancy”) by James Keane on his album “Live In Dublin”.

Just another setting

Also discovered that this tune from a Johnny Connolly album, which is labeled “Boil The Breakfast Early”, is actually this tune:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1RJFjOXN06rBwqBLgJx7K0?si=XX7t_4yfScqd0nwOGxLrig

Members of Danu Play this tune in C Major.

Recorded by Lough Gill Quartette (J. Cawley; S. Hobbs; S. Brogan; B. Harte) in 1941 as Ballinure Rake.

Played by Noel Hill and Tony MacMahon :
https://youtu.be/VwuwqkB2TAQ

play video