“The Glen of Aherlow” is a great reel composed by Sean Ryan, fiddle player from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. I associate this tune with my friend Paolo Cerato, an accordion player from Italy who has been living in Co. Clare for many years.
X:1
T:Glen of Aherlow, The
R:reel
C:Sean Ryan
M:4/4
K:Edor
|:B2AF BFAF|E2EF EDB,D|B2AF BFAF|DFAF FEE2|
B2AF BFAF|EDEF EDB,A,|B,EE2 DEFA|dBAF F~E3:||
|:e~B3 egfe|d2fd Adfd|eBB2 egfe|dBAF F~E3|
eBB2 egfe|d2fd Adfd|~B3d egfe|dBAF F~E3:||
I learned Patsy Touhey’s many years ago from the playing of Terry Bingham and was recently reminded of this great tune by Jack Talty.
I heard it from the playing of accordion player Bryan O’Leary, who cites Paddy Cronin as the source. It is a very old tune that appears as “A Feg For A Kiss” in Robert Bremner’s 1757 collection, and probably is a version of the more famous slip jig “A Fig For A Kiss”.
The Maid Behind The Bar is one of the most common reel in Irish Music, but I have to admit we don’t hear it in Doolin very often. I learned it from Chris Droney, the legendary concertina player from Bell Harbour, Co. Clare.
