Annotation:Betty O'Brien

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BETTY O'BRIEN. AKA - "Planxty Kitty O'Brien." AKA and see "Kitty O'Brien." Irish, Air (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABC. Composed by blind Irish Harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). Donal O'Sullivan (1958) could find no information regarding Betty O'Brien (whose name was Betty, not Kitty, according to the words set to the tune). Collector Edward Bunting noted a version of the tune ("Catigh Ni Bhrian/Kitty O'Brien") from the playing of harper Charles Fanning and printed it in his General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music (London, 1796, No. 38).

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Bunting (A General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland), 1796; p. 21. Complete Collection of Carolan's Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 111, p. 82. Hughes (Gems from the Emerald Isle), c. 1860?, No. 38, p. 10. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 236. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 663, p. 120. O'Sullivan (O'Carolan: The Life Times and Music of an Irish Harper), 1958; No. 111, p. 160.

Recorded sources:




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