Annotation:Ivy Leaf Reel (2)
X:1 T:Ivy Leaf [2], The M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:Mulvihill - 1st Collection (1986) No. 136 K:Ador A2 Ae cAec|ABce dBGB|A2 Ae cAec|BGEF G2 fg| ae (3efe ce (3efe|Aece dBGB|AGAB cAec|BGEF GABd|| ea {b}(3aga ea{b}af|g2 ge dBGB|A2 ag edBA|BGEF GABd| ea {b}(3aga ea{b}af|g2 ge dBGB|A2 AB {d}cBcd|eaaf gedB||
IVY LEAF [2], THE (Duille an t-aignean). AKA and see "Mind My Border," "Mind My Brother," "Miss Farr's Reel," "Miss Faw's Reel," "Molly will You do it?," "New Ivy Leaf (The)," "New Steamboat (The)," "New Steampacket (The)." Irish, Reel. A Dorian (Mitchell) or A Mixolydian (Flaherty, O'Neill/1001): E Dorian (Taylor). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (O'Neill/1001, Taylor): AA'B (Flaherty, O'Neill/1915 & 1850): AABB' (Alewine, O'Neill/Krassen): ABCD (Mitchell). The title appears in a list of tunes in his repertoire brought by Philip Goodman, the last professional and traditional piper in Farney, Louth, to the Feis Ceoil in Belfast in 1898 (Breathnach, 1997). Interestingly, the ivy leaf can, and is, played in Ireland in the same way that many of us learned to 'play' a blade of grass i.e. by securing it tightly between the palm and thumbs, then blowing on the back of the thumbs to make it vibrate. Tom Munnelly remembers a young man in the 1960's won a round of the television talent show "Opportunity Knocks" playing the ivy leaf. Munnelly says, "Much play was made of the fact that because he had to stay on in London for the next heat the following week he needed fresh ivy leafs and English leaves would not do. A man had to be sent over to the Phoenix Park in Dublin to gather some ivy and flown back in time for the next show. For some indication on how to play the ivy leaf go to Richard Henebry's A Handbook of Irish Music, p. 51." (posted to Irtrad-L). Perhaps the first sound recording of the reel was by uilleann piper Patsy Touhey [1] (1865–1923) in 1919. Tuohey had provided the music for a play called "The Ivy Leaf" in 1888, and provided the accompaniment for William Powers' Ivy Leaf company. Tom Ennis also recorded the Ivy Leaf in the 78 RPM era, calling it the "New Steamboat (The)."
Canon James Goodman (County Cork) included a version of "Ivy Leaf Reel (2)" in his large mid-19th century music manuscript collection (vol. 3, p. 70) under the title "Molly will You do it?." See also "Ivy Leaf Reel (3)," a member of the "Man of the House (The)" family of tunes which has a similar first strain to "Ivy Leaf (2)." The second strains differ.
