Annotation:Susanna Kelly
X:1 T:Saely Kelly T:Susanna Kelly M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Air C:”Thomas Connallon about 1660.” B:Bunting – Ancient Music of Ireland (1840, No. 34, p. 27) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Eb (A/B/)|(.c.F2) (G/B/)|(.c.F2) G/A/|.B.B (B/c/B/G/)|B2 z(c/=d/)| (e/=d/) .c2d|(e/=d/) c2 d/e/|(f/g/f/e/) (=d/e/d/c/)|(B2 G)(A/B/)| (c.F2) G/F/|(E/F/E/=D/ C) (G/=A/)|(.B2 B)(=A/=B/)|(.c2 c)(c/=d/)| (.e.e) (f/e/=d/e/)|([c2f2][B2c2=e2g2])|(f/e/c/B/) (A/B/)(G/A/)|{FA}F2 F:| |:A, (G,/A,/).B (.E.B)|(E,/F,/).G (.G.B)|(c/e/)(c/B/) (G/B/G/F/)|TE>=D Cz| {g}(f/=e/f/g/) (.f.c)|{f}(e/=d/e/f/) (.e.f)|(g/f/e/=d/) (f/e/d/c/)|(e/=d/c/B/) (.c.d)| (e/=d/e/f/) (.e.f)|.g/(f/g/a/) .b.g|ff/f/ g/f/(e/=d/)|(e2 c>)=d| (e>g) (e>c)|(c/B/G/F/) (.E.C)|z z/B/ (c/B/G/F/)|{AF}F2 F:|]
SUSANNA KELLY (Súsaí Ní Cheallaigh). AKA - "Sally Kelly," "Sheela ni Kelly," "Miss Sally Kelly." AKA and see "Súsaí Ní Cheallaigh." Irish, Air or Planxty (2/4 time). E Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. "Susanna Kelly" was composed by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). The melody (sometimes given as “Saely Kelly”) comes from the playing of the elderly harper Charles Byrne, notated by Edward Bunting at the famous 1792 Belfast Harp Assembly. That Carolan composed the piece is in some dispute; harper Byrne attributed it to O’Carolan, but elsewhere in his work Bunting makes the attribution to another harper, Thomas Connellan, who composed a century earlier (c. 1660).
Donal O'Sullivan (1958) believes that Susanna was the daughter of Edmond Kelly, son of John Kelly of Scregg, who settled at Churchborough. There is no townland of that name, notes O'Sullivan, but he found mention of it in a list of place names in a document dated 1812, and found that it was in the barony of Athlone. O'Sullivan (1983) points out that, next to Murphy, Kelly is the most common surname in Ireland. In O'Carolan's time most of the Kellys lived in County Roscommon, and both Catholics and Protestants used the name.
