Annotation:Captain Sudley

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 CAPTAIN SUDLEY. AKA and see "Planxty Sudley," "Carolan's Dowry,” “Spré Uí Chearbhúlláin.” Irish, Air. D Major (Complete Collection, O’Sullivan): C Major (Heymann). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Composed by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1678-1730). O'Sullivan (1958) writes that "Captain Sudley" may have served as dowry for the marriage of Carolan's daughter Siobhán to an English army captain named Sudley who was stationed in Ireland. The harper Patrick Lynch preserved the words which were collected by Edward Bunting and appear in his manuscripts at Queens University, Belfast. There is some indication from Lynch's notes, written in Irish, that the marriage took place "against his/her will", although the statement is ambiguous and it is not known which of the parties (including Carolan) might have been dissatisfied at the union. The second verse contains the passage "Well did you play your card," addressed to the daughter, leading some to believe that it was not Siobhán who might have been unhappy.  Source for notated version: John Mulholland's Collection of Ancient irish Airs (Belfast, 1810) [O'Sullivan].  Printed sources: Complete Collection of Carolan's Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 163, p. 110-111. Heymann (Off the Record), 1990; pp. 8-9. O’Sullivan (Carolan: The Life, Times and Music of an Irish Harper), 1958; No. 163, pp. 188-189.  Recorded sources: Clairseach Records 2381, Ann Heymann - "Ann's Harp" (1981).

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