I heard “Big Pat’s Reel” at a session in Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin, played by my friend Christophe, a great fiddle player and harpist from France. I was also familiar with this tune through the recording “Waifs & Strays” by Michael Hynes and Denis Liddy.
X:1
T:Big Pat’s Reel
R:reel
M:4/4
K:Emin
|:BGEF G2BG|G2AG FDFA|BGEF G2Bd|1 gefd e2dc:|2 gefd ~e3f||
~g3a bgag|eaag fdef|g2ga bgag|fedf e2ef|
g3a bgag|eaag fdef|g2ge ~f3d|egfd e2dc||
I learned The Boys of Ballinahinch (also known as “The Strawberry Blossom”) from the Hugh Healy and Blackie O’Connell’s duet album “We Were Drinking And Kissing The Ladies”.
“The Boyne Hunt” is a classic session reel. I learned it from my good friend Stéphane during the Feakle Festival in 2013. It is usually played before “Rolling in the Ryegrass”.
I learned Lady Ann Montgomery from Noel O’Donoghue during sessions in Gus O’Connor’s Pub. This reel is a common session tune and is usually followed by “Maud Millar’s” and “Molloy’s Favourite” (around Doolin anyways).
