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.
X:1
T:Cordal (The)
M:6/8
R:Jig
K:D
|:BAF E2E|FEF DFA|BAF EFA|B2A Bcd|
BAF ~E3|FEF DFA|def edc|B2A Bcd:||
|:d2e fed|c2c ecA|dcd fed|f2e fga|
d2d fed|c2c ecA|dcB cBA|B2A Bcd:||
This is the second tune of the Christy Barry’s set. It is also known as “The Butlers of Glen Avenue” and was composed by banjo player Anthony Sullivan, but it is widely known as “Christy Barry’s Jig No. 2”.
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.
The Sligo Maid is one of the most common reel in Irish traditional music. I associate this tune with two musicians in the area : Seán Vaughan, the great box player from Kilmaley, and Christy Barry, whistle and flute player from Ennistymon.
3 thoughts on “Cordal Jig (The)”
When did this tune originate? What year?
Hi Greg! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂 It is a very old tune, dating back to the late 1700s at least. It is mentioned in James Aird book “Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 3”, published in Glasgow in 1788. It is also present in James Goodman’s collection in the mid 1800s and both books have it under the name “Jackson’s Bouner Bougher” or “Jackson’s Banner Banogher”. I hope that helps!
I got curious about the Cordal jig and that’s the information I was searching for. Thanks!