Annotation:Green Fields of Rossbeigh (The)

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 GREEN FIELDS OF ROS(S)BEIGH, THE (Páirceanna Glasa Ros Beithe). AKA and see "Green Banks of Rossbeigh," "Kerry Reel (1) (The)," "Witch of the Glen (The)." Irish, Reel. E Minor/Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Moylan): AABB (Breathnach, Harker/Rafferty, Mallinson). Recorded by County Cavan/Philadelphia fiddler and composer Ed Reavy (1898-1988) for the Victor company in Camden, New Jersey, in 1927 (Victor 21593B), under the title "Tom Clark's Fancy." However, the first recording of the tune (under the "Rossbeigh" title) was by Miltown, County Kerry, fiddler Michael Hanafin (1880-1970) in 1926. In the liner notes to "From Galway to Dublin" Varlet & Spottswood note that Hanafin emigrated to Boston, Mass., around the turn of the last century, and that he performed in piano-player Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band (Hanafin and his brother William were friends of Sullivan's father). Susan Gedutis, in her book See You at the Hall: Boston's Golden Era of Irish Music And Dance (2005, p. 22) records this remembrance by Gene Frain, a Boston piper, pianist and flute player, who as a child knew Hanafin: ''I would jump a streetcar with my father, down to Central Square. Where Mike was there was always music.'' There was a saying years ago--you buy a barroom, put Mike in it, and Mike would draw the Irish from ''everyplace. He was a nice guy to talk to. Entertaining, as well. He'd play the tin whistle; he'd play'' ''the violin. When he got a real good crowd going, he'd sell the place and move right to a new joint.'' He had a good thing going.  Source for notated version: accordion player Sonny Brogan (County Sligo/Dublin, Ireland) [Breathnach]; accordion player Johnny O'Leary (Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border) [Moylan]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].  Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ I), 1963; No. 181, p. 71. Cotter (Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor), 1989; 69. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1994; p. 40. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 69, p. 22. Lyth (Bowing Styles in Irish Fiddle Playing, vol. 1), 1981; 33, 34. Mallinson (100 Essential), 1995; No. 69, p. 30. Moylan (Johnny O'Leary), 1994; No. 206, p. 119.  Recorded sources: Green Linnet SIF 1162, Kevin Crawford - "The D Flute Album." De Dannan. Rounder CD 1087, Denis Murphy - "From Galway to Dublin" (1992).  See also listing at: Alan Ng's Irishtune.info Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources

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