ROARING MARY (Máire Bhéiceach). AKA and see “Foxie Mary," "Foxy Mary (3)," "Reel ben ben vieux," "Scotch Molly.” Irish, Reel. D Major (Flaherty, Harker/Rafferty, Kennedy, Mallinson, Miller, Mulvihill): D Mixolydian (Breathnach). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Flaherty): AABB (Breathnach, Harker/Rafferty, Kennedy, Mallinson, Mulvihill). This frequently recorded reel is often associated with accordion player Joe Cooley, who typically played it last in a set of three tunes along with "Humors of Tulla (The)" and "Skylark (1) (The).” The medley (sometimes just “The Skylark” followed by “Roaring Mary”) is still a popular combination at sessions. Martin O’Connor is said to have mentioned that Roaring Mary was one of Joe Cooley’s students. An older name for the tune, however, is “Foxie Mary,” by which title the tune appears under in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883 (p. 30). Manuscripts written by Sligo fiddler James Morrison for New York Students had it as "Foxy Mary." It seems that it was Morrison's protegé Paddy Killoran who re-christened the tune "Roaring Mary" on a 1936 78 rpm disc that predated by a generation Cooley and his student. “Foxie Mary” is given as an alternate title by Peter Kennedy, taken perhaps from a source familiar with Ryan’s Mammoth Collection. In his final recording session, Sligo fiddle great Michael Coleman called it "Lazy Mary." Paddy Killoran
The tune is popular among Acadian fiddlers under the titles "Reel ben ben vieux" (The Old Old Reel) and "Reel à Théo." Peter Corfield notes that it "is a commonly found tune in the Northern part of [New Brunswick] and Gaspe region of Québec," imported by Irish immigrants to who settled in the region.
Additional notes Source for notated version : - accordion player Sonny Brogan (County Sligo/Dublin, Ireland) [Breathnach]; flute player Pat Meehan (b. 1960, Killaraght area, south Sligo) [Flaherty]; Gus Collins (Bronx, New York) [Mullvihill]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].
Printed sources : - Breathnach (Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol. I), 1963; No. 161, p. 64. Corfield (Tunes from New Brunswick), 2024; p. 113. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 104. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 81, p. 26. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 172, p. 40. Lyth (Bowing Styles in Irish Fiddle Playing, vol. 1), 1981; 71. Mallinson (100 Essential), 1995; No. 41, p. 18. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 243, p. 148. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 20, p. 5.
Recorded sources : - Decca 12090A (78 RPM), Paddy Killoran (1936). Gael-Linn CEFCD 044, Joe Cooley - "Cooley" (1963). Shanachie 33003, "Paddy Killoran's Back in Town" (1977). Topic Records TSCD604, Moate Ceilidhe Band - "Past Masters of Irish Dance Music" (2000. Various artists). Paddy Killoran - "From Ballymote to Brooklyn".
See also listing at : Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [3]
Hear Paddy Killoran's 1936 recording at the Comhaltas Archive [4]
