Annotation:Murphy's Hornpipe (1)
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MURPHY'S HORNPIPE [1] (Cornphiopa Uí Mhurchada). AKA – "Murphy's Fancy." AKA and see "Nellie Murphy’s," "Touhey's Favorite Hornpipe." Irish, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Brody): AA'BB' (Kerr): AABBCDE (Breathnach): AABB'CCDD' (Miller): AABCCDD' (Carlin). The earliest appearance of the tune to date is in the mid-19th century music manuscript collection of uilleann piper and Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman, County Cork, where it is entered simply as "Hornpipe" in three strains. The earliest sound recording of the hornpipe was made in 1904 by Capt. Francis O'Neill, from the tin-whistle playing of uilleann piper and vaudeville performer Patrick "Patsy" Touhey. O'Neill used a home cylinder machine. The closely related "Kilderry Hornpipe" was recorded in 1928 by Boston fiddler Michael Hanafin with Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band on a side that paired it with an unrelated "Murphy's Hornpipe." This might explain why the "Murphy's" name was subsequently transferred to the Touhey/Hanafin tune. The setting now current is the one recorded in 1935 as "Murphy's" by Sligo master Michael Coleman, who transformed the basic two-part reel into a four-part fiddle showpiece.
Sources for notated versions: Jean Carignan (Montreal, Canada) [Brody]; Michael Coleman (1891–1945, Co. Sligo/New York) [Miller & Perron]; accordion player Sonny Brogan (Ireland) [Breathnach]; Bronx-born fiddler Andy McGann (1928–2004) [Miller & Perron].
Printed sources:
Breathnach (CRÉ 1), 1963; No. 213, p. 86.
Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 200.
Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 285, p. 160.
Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 4), c. 1880's; No. 280, p. 30.
Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; vol. 1, No. 23.
Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; p. 119 (appears as "Murphy's Fancy").
O'Brien (Irish Folk Dance Music), 1952 (appears as "The Kilderry Hornpipe").
Recorded sources:
Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 167, Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington – "The Merry Love to Play" (2007).
DECCA 2057A (78 RPM), Michael Coleman (1935). Columbia Co 33192-F, Joseph Sullivan and William McCormick (as "Tuohy's Favorite," 1927).
Flying Fish FF-246, The Red Clay Ramblers – "Hard Times" (1981).
Folkways FW 8876, Kevin Burke – "Sweeney's Dream."
Gael-Linn Records CEF 161, "Michael Coleman 1891–1945."
Green Linnet SIF 1138, James Keane – "That's the Spirit."
Philo FI 2018, Jean Carignan – "Plays Coleman, Morrison and Skinner" (appears as first tune of "Hornpipe Set" medley).
Shanachie 29008, Frankie Gavin – "Traditional Music of Ireland."
Shaskeen Records OS-360, Andy McGann, Joe Burke, Felix Dolan – "A Tribute to Michael Coleman" (c. 1965).
Johnny O'Leary – "Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border."
Kevin Henry – "One's Own Place-A Family Tradition."
See also listings at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]
Hear the tune played by fiddler Michael O'Rourke at the Comhaltas Archive [3]
Hear Patsy Touhey's tin-whistle cylinder recording at the Dunn Family Archives [4] (appears as "Touhey's Favorite Hornpipe").