“The Concertina Reel” is a common session tune that I associate with the great accordion player Bobby Gardiner, with whom I played a few sessions at the Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna.
X:1
T:Concertina Reel, The
R:Reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:D
|A2FA BAFA|A2FA BAFA|B2cA BAcA|BAcA BAFA|
A2FA BAFA|A2FA BAFE|FABc dedB|AFEF D2 (3EFG:||
|:A~d3 A~d3|AddA BAFA|B2cA BAcA|BAcA BAFA|
A~d3 A~d3|AddA BAFE|FABc dedB|AFEF D2 (3EFG:||
One the great session reels, “Last Night’s Fun” is a tune I have learned through different sessions over the years. I associate it with Mary Bergin in particular, as I have always loved her version on “Feadóga stáin”. Noel Hill also recorded it on “The Irish Concertina”.
I learned “Lillies in the Field” from Terry Bingham’s wonderful concertina album (he calls it “PJ Conlon’s on his album). It is a great reel which I have enjoyed playing for many years now and I also associate it with the playing of Tony MacMahon.
“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.
