Annotation:Port Patrick (1)
Back to Port Patrick (1)
PORT PATRICK [1] (Cuain-Padraic). Scottish, Irish; Air, March or Double Jig. G Major (O’Neill): A Mixolydian (Bremner). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Portpatrick [1] is a coastal village in Dumfried and Galloway, southwest Scotland, with a sheltered harbor. It was a ferry port of passengers, postal mail and freight between Ireland and Scotland. At one time it was a destination for couples from Ireland seeking a quick wedding, conducted by the Church of Scotland minister (see note for "annotation:English Bring to Gratney Green the Lasses that Hae Siller (The)" for more).
John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of this tune in print in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection. However, it is attributed to the ancient harper Rory Dall (Blind Rory). The tune appears in a few American musicians' manuscript of the latter 18th century, sometimes as a quickstep, including the copybooks of fifer Thomas Nixon (Danbury, Conn., 1776-78), fiddlers John and William Pitt Turner (Norwich, Conn., 1788), and fiddler George White (Cherry Valley, N.Y., 1790).
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Bremner (Scots Reels), c. 1757; p. 25. Gatherer (Gatherer’s Musical Museum), 1987; p. 23. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 3), c. 1880's; No. 251, p. 28. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 356, p. 73. Oswald (Caledonian Pocket Companion, Book 12), 1760; p. 15.
Recorded sources: Great Meadow Music GMM 2018, Frank Ferrel & Joe Derrane – “Fiddledance” (2004. Learned from concertina player Tim Collins, of the Kilfenora Ceili Band). Temple 001, Alison Kinnaird - "Harp Key"(1978).