Annotation:O'Farrell's Welcome to Limerick

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O'FARRELL'S WELCOME TO LIMERICK. AKA and see "Boy in the Bush (The)," "Choice Wife (The)," "Perfect Wife (The)," "Phis fhliuch (An)." Irish, Jig. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDDEE. The composition is one by uilleann piper O'Farrell, according to Francis O'Neill, presumably due to its inclusion in his National Irish Music (1804). O'Farrell (whose first name is not known) published four important collections of Irish music between 1797 and 1810, and was the first to publish a tutor for the improved Irish instrument. Though little seems to be known about him (including his first name) he seems to have spent a good deal of time in London where he performed on stage in such productions as the pantomime of Oscar and Malvina. A coarser Irish Gaelic title for the tune is "Phis fhliuch (An)," of which a polite translation would be "The Choice Wife." The tune was first published in O'Farrell's Collection of National Irish Music for the Union Pipes (c. 1804). O'Farrell's setting was entered into the mid-19th century music manuscript copybook of County Cork uilleann piper and Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman [1].

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: O'Farrell (Collection of National Irish Music for the Union Pipes), 1804; p. 39.

Recorded sources: O'Shaughnessy and McGrattan - "Within a Mile of Dublin." Maggie's Music MM220, Hesperus - "Celtic Roots."

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]
Hear the tune played by fiddler Maureen Fitzpatrick at the Comhaltas Archive [4]