McGivney’s Fancy is a hornpipe associated with Éamon McGivney, a great fiddle player from Co. Longford originally but resident of West Clare for many years and one of the directors of Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy since the early 1980s.
It has been one of my favourite hornpipes for many years now and I loved playing with my friend JB Samzun on fiddle.
I first learned this hornpipe from a great recording of James Kelly, Paddy O’Brien and Daithi Sproule called “Traditional Music of Ireland”. Hugh Healy also recorded a great version of “McGivney’s Fancy” on his recent album “Ceolaire”.
X:1
T:McGivney’s Fancy
T:Eamon McGivney’s
R:hornpipe
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Edor
|:Beed e2gf|edBA B2 (3ABc|d2dc dfgf|edBG A2BA|
G2GA Bgfg|edBd efg2|EFGA BdBA|G2E2 E2GA:||
|:BGEG BGEG|BGAF E2FG|AFDF AFDF|A2 (3GFE D2EF|
G2GA Bgfg|edBd efg2|EFGA BdBA|G2E2 E2GA:||
3 thoughts on “McGivney’s Fancy”
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This is so lovely. I learned a version of Jacky Tar and I’d like to play McGivney’s together as a set. I am trying to play this song on a C/G Anglo concertina and I am having trouble with the buttoning for that first triplet (in the second bar). Forgive me, but it’s A, B, C#, right? I’ve tried the left hand B/C button for the B, then the right hand B/C, but I can’t push/pull fast enough to do the triplet smoothly when switching to the accidental 1 C# button on the right hand side. Can you give me some advice? Are there alternative notes I could play that would be easier? Sorry, but I’m quite new to the concertina and playing music in general. Any other tips for playing this song? Thanks for any help you can give!
Hi Jason! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Yes, the triplet in the second bar is ABC#. The fingering I use for this triplet is: A left middle row, first button, pull / B left inside row second button push / C# right top row first button push. This is my usual pattern for ABC# triplets.
It is possible that your C# might only be on the pull, but the triplet is still possible there, it just becomes “pull-push-pull” so more bellow works, which can make a bit more awkward and less fluid, but my only advice would be to keep practicing, you’ll get it eventually 🙂
Finding alternatives is good for creativity, but in this particular case I wouldn’t encourage you to find an alternative to play instead of the triplet, but rather practice the triplet, and then also add alternatives. What I sometimes do in this 2nd bar is |edBA ~B3 c|
I hope that helps 🙂
Best regards from Doolin,
Charles