“Bó Mhín Na Toitean” is a strathspey I learned a long time ago when I was still in Switzerland. It comes from the playing of the great Donegal band Altan.
X:1
T:Bo Mhin Na Toitean
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:Strathspey
K:Ador
|:A2 e2 e2 dB|d2 ef ge a2|A2 e2 e2 dB|eg ed BA GB|
A2 e2 e2 dB|d2 ef ge a2|eg ed e/f/g ed|B2 AG A2 BG:||
|:A2 a2 a2 ge|d2 ef ge a2|A2 a2 a2 ge|dg ed BA GB|
A2 a2 a2 ge|d2 ef ge a2|eg ed e/f/g ed|B2 AG A2 BG:||
I learned “The Maid in the Meadow” from Yvonne Casey’s first album. It is a great tune that you hear a good bit in sessions in the area. This reel is also sometimes called “The Dream of Home”, as collected by Breandán Breathnach.
“Stone of Destiny” is a beautiful reel composed by fiddle player Maurice Lennon (son of the great Ben Lennon from Leitrim, and nephew of the famous composer Charlie Lennon). I learned this tune from my friend JB, a great fiddle player from Britanny. Liam O’Brien, a wonderful concertina player from Miltown Malbay, recorded this tune on his album “The Lane”.
A very common session tune, “The Galway Rambler” was one of the first reel I ever learned. It was my friend Gilles Tabary who taught it to me in Switzerland. I associate this tune with flute player Adrian McMahon from Kilfenora, with whom I have enjoyed many good sessions these past few years.
