Annotation:Parnell's March

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PARNELL’S MARCH. The tune was recorded by piper Joe McKenna under the title “Rowsome’s Jig(s),” referring to his teacher, Leo Rowsome. Harry Bradley informs the tune has a long association with the uilleann pipes, having been included in Tadhg Crowley’s 1936 pipe tutor (“published the same year as Leo Rowsome’s tutor; there hadn’t been a tutor for the pipes in over a hundred years and all of a sudden two fall out of the hat in the same year!”). He believes Crowley may have borrowed heavily from Highland Bagpipe repertoire, and thinks “Parnell’s March” may have had a pipe band association. Sol Foster (Ir-trad 12/15/05) notices the tune has a strong resemblance to Newfoundland fiddler Rufus Guinchard’s tune “Uncle Manual Milks the Cow.” Foster says the title was invented by Guinchard, and that the tune “was just a nameless one floating around the northwest portion of Newfoundland in the early 1900’s.”

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Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Topic TSCD 669, Willy Taylor, Joe Hutton & Will Atkinson (et al) – “Ranting and Reeling: Dance Music of the north of England” (1998. Atkinson {b. 1908} of Crookham, Northumberland, was an harmonica player, Taylor a fiddler and Hutton a Northumbrian small-piper).