I learned “Billy McCormick’s Jig” at a workshop with Terry Bingham during the Russell Memorial Weekend in 2012. Terry also recorded this tune on his album, after “The Kilmaley Jig”. He associates it with fiddle player Connie Connell’s.
X:1
T:Billy McCormick’s Jig
R:Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:Ador
|:ABG ABd|edB gdB|GFG BGB|dBG AGE|
ABA ABd|edB def|gag fdB|ABG A3:||
|:aga bge|aga bge|gag gdB|GBd gbg|
aba age|edB def|gag fdB|ABG A3:||
“Contentment is Wealth” is a great jig I learned from my friend Thierry Masure, a fiddle player from Belgium who lives in Co. Clare also. There are a few different versions of this tune, but this is the one I got from Thierry, which was also recorded by Paddy Murphy, the legendary concertina player from Fiach Roe, Co. Clare. Another great recording of this lovely jig can also be found on Dan Gurney’s album.
I learned “The Cordal Jig” from my good friend Sami Koenig, a wonderful fiddle player from Switzerland, during one of his visits to Ireland. Cordal is a village in North Kerry.
“The Chattering Magpie” is a common reel in County Clare, very much associated with concertina players. I learned it from Noel O’Donoghue and Seán Vaughan back in 2015, and I actually remember that evening quite well as it was one of the first time (if not THE first time) I was playing a gig with Noel and Seán together, at O’Connor’s Pub.
