Connemara Stockings
CONNEMARA STOCKINGS. AKA and see "Boston Rattlers'," "Hobb's Favorite," "Galway Reel (1) (The)," "Winter Apples (2)." Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The name Connemara derives from the name of the ancient tribe who lived in that area of Ireland, the people of Con mac na Mara. Connemara's coastline was for ages the scene of much smuggling, with deep and winding inlets leading directly to the feet of highland tracks, and perfect for concealment. The famous smuggler Captain George O'Malley, himself the son of a smuggler, was born in 1786 near Ballynakill in the remote north-western corner of Connemara. So lucrative was the smuggling trade that when roads were finally built into the region from Galway, opening it up to commerce but also to the forces of the law, they were blamed for the economic decline of the area (Ciaran Carson, Last Night's Fun). See also P.W. Joyce's "Typrid Lasses," a close variant. The first strain of "Colonel McBain's" is cognate with the second strain of "Connemara Stockings."
Printed sources: Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, vol. 2, No. 4. Roche Collection, 1913; vol. 1, p. 60, No. 151. Taylor (Crossroads), 1992; No. 31, p. 23.
Recorded sources: Green Linnet SIF1035, Brian Conway & Tony De Marco - "The Apple in Winter" (1981. Learned from a Hames Morrison recording). Rounder CD7018, Frank Ferrel - "Boston Fiddle: The Dudley Street Tradition." Castle Ceili Band - "A Way for Ireland."
X: 1
T: Connemara Stockings
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: Reel
K: G
g2fg edBA|GABG AGED|GABd eaag|fdef gaba|
g2fg edBA|GABG AGED|GABd eaag|fdef gdef||
gbef gbe2|fade fad2|gbef gbeg|fedf e2ed|
ebba b2ag|eaag ~a3f|g2ge f2fd|edef gaba||
X:2 T:Connemara Stocking, The T:Galway Reel, The T:Winter Apples R:reel D:Chieftains 1. Z:id:hn-reel-139 Z:transcribed by henrik.norbeck@mailbox.swipnet.se M:C| L:1/8 K:G g2fg edBA|GABG AGED|GABd eaag|1 fdef gbaf:|2 fdef gdef|| gbef gbe2|fade fad2|gbef gfed|Bded Bded| ebba b2ag|faab ~a3f|gbag fagf|edef gdef||