Annotation:Kesh Jig (1) (The)
X:1 T:Kesh Jig [1] L:1/8 M:6/8 K:G D|G3 GAB|ABA ABd|edd gdd|edB dBA| G3 GAB|ABA ABd|ede gdB|AGF G2:| |:A|B3 dBd|ege dBG|BAB dBG|A3 AGA| BAB dBd|ege dBd|g3 aga|bgf g2:|]
KESH JIG [1], THE. AKA and see "Castle Jig (1) (The)," "Kerrigan's Jig," "Kerrigan's Fancy," "Kincora Jig," "Little Boy Ted in the Hay," "Mountaineers' March (The)," "Port Pat Coclain," "Rambler Jig (The)," "Spring Well (The)," "Tear the Callies," "Union Reel (The)." Irish, Double Jig (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (most versions): AA'BB' (Miller & Perron). The village of Kesh [1] is in County Fermanagh, Ireland, near Lough Earne. The jig has been popular in Irish sessions since it was (re)popularized under the "Kesh" title by the Bothy Band, albeit often regarded nowadays as a 'beginners tune'. "Port Pat Coclain" is a West Kerry slide version of this tune, and also the related "Spring Well" and "Fond of the Ladies." Michael Coleman recorded the melody on 78 RPM as "Kerrigan's Jig."
The first printed version appears to be in George Petrie's 1850's collection under the title "Tear the Callies." The first sound recording was by accordion player Edward Herborn with banjo player James Wheeler, who recorded a close version of the "Kesh" under the title "Rambler Jig (The)" (paired with "Maid Behind the Bar (1) (The)"). Ellen O'Byrne was an entrepreneur who saw an opportunity supplying early commercial 78 RPM recordings to the niche market of the Irish community in America. She convinced Columbia to take a chance recording Irish musicians with the Herborn and Wheeler accordion/banjo duo as the first musicians to record Irish dance tunes. "Since the deal required O'Byrne to buy 500 to 1,000 copies in advance to sell through the O'Byrne Dewitt store, she went door-to-door in the Irish neighborhoods to announce the impending release of the recording. The disc sold out in no time and proved there was a market for Irish music in America"[1].
