“The Humours of Loughrea” is the second reel of a set I have learned from Noel O’Donoghue. The first tune of the set is “The Limestone Rock“. This particular tune is also known as “Tommy Whelan’s” or simply “Whelan’s”. It is associated with The Ballinakill Ceili Band from East Galway.
This is a great common session tune! I learned “Devaney’s Goat” (or Devanny’s Goat) through various sessions, but I associate it with the playing of Christy Barry. In the sleeve notes of John Carty’s album’s “Last Night’s Fun”, it says that, according to flute player Jack Coen, this reel was composed by Tommy Whelan, a flute player with the Ballinakill Ceili Band, who named the tune for a neighbor’s animal.
