Annotation:Boys of Ballysadare (2) (The)
X:1 T:The Boys of Ballysadare [2] L:1/8 M:C| K:G B|dG G2 dGeG|dGGA BAAB|dG G2 dedB|AcBA GEDB| dG G2 dGeG|dGGA BA A2|Gddg eBdB|AcBA GE D2|| g3a bgaf|g3 a bgef|g2 ga bgaf|gfed Bdef| g3 a bgaf|gfga bgeg| bgaf gedB|AcBA GE D2|| Bddd Bdgd|Bdgd BA A2|Bddd eBdB|AcBA GE D2| Bddd Bdgd|Bdgd BAAB|dBBA B2 BG|AcBA GE D||
BOYS OF BALLYSADARE [2], THE. AKA - "Boys of Ballysodare." AKA and see "Dublin Lasses (1)," "Douse the Monkey," "Galway Reel (6) (A)," "Miss Boden's Reel," "Miss Roden's Reel," "Miss Roddy's," "Last Night's Work," "Eve (The)." Irish, Reel (cut time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABC (Harker/Rafferty, O'Neill, Taylor, Tubridy): AA'BCC' (Prior): ABCDEF (Mitchell). Ballysadare (locally spelled Ballisodare, from the Irish Baile Easa Dara, meaning 'the town of the waterfall by the oak') is a parish and a village in County Sligo. It lies on an estuary, one of three forming Sligo Harbour, and is fed by the Owenmore River, with rapids and falls descending to the bay. Ballysodare is a popular traditional music venue. St. Feichin of Fore established a monastery at Ballysodare in the 7th century, replaced by a 13th century church and incorporates 12th century features, including a doorway and mouldings at the corners.
The tune has been called 'the national anthem' of Sligo fiddling due to the number of musicians from that county who recorded the tune. Older publications list the tune generally as "The Dublin Lasses," in two parts. The third part of the "Ballysdare" reel is cut-time rendering of one of the parts of the slip/hop jig of the same name. David Taylor (1992) says the tune has "distinct connotations" with the melody "Last Night's Fun (4)" (as opposed to the alternate title above, "Last Night's Work"). It was recorded by Irish fiddle master Michael Coleman (Co. Sligo and New York) in 1922 as "Miss Roddy's." A version of the reel (with parts reversed) was entered into the late 19th/early 20th century music manuscript of curate and fiddler biography:Rev. Luke Donnellan (1878-1952) as "Miss Boden's Reel," a title similar to "Miss Roden's Reel."
