Annotation:Roaring Mary

Back to Roaring Mary

ROARING MARY (Máire Bhéiceach). AKA and see “Foxie Mary.” Irish, Reel. D Major (Flaherty, Harker/Rafferty, Kennedy, Mallinson, Miller, Mulvihill): D Mixolydian (Breathnach). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Flaherty): AABB (Breathnach, Harker/Rafferty, Kennedy, Mallinson, Mulvihill). This frequently recorded reel is often associated with accordion player Joe Cooley, who typically played it last in a set of three tunes along with "Humors of Tulla (The)" and "Skylark (1) (The).” The medley (sometimes just “The Skylark” followed by “Roaring Mary”) is still a popular combination at sessions. Martin O’Connor is said to have mentioned that Roaring Mary was one of Joe Cooley’s students. The name, however, is very close to “Foxie Mary,” by which title the tune appears under in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883 (p. 30). Sligo fiddler Paddy Killoran recorded the tune in New York in the 78 RPM era, again under the title “Roaring Mary,” predating by a generation Cooley and his student. “Foxie Mary” is given as an alternate title by Peter Kennedy, taken perhaps from a source familiar with Ryan’s Mammoth Collection.

Additional notes

Sources for notated versions: - accordion player Sonny Brogan (County Sligo/Dublin, Ireland) [Breathnach]; flute player Pat Meehan (b. 1960, Killaraght area, south Sligo) [Flaherty]; Gus Collins (Bronx, New York) [Mullvihill]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].

Printed sources : - Breathnach (CRÉ I), 1963; No. 161, p. 64. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 104. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 81, p. 26. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 172, p. 40. Lyth (Bowing Styles in Irish Fiddle Playing, vol. 1), 1981; 71. Mallinson (100 Essential), 1995; No. 41, p. 18. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 243, p. 148. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 20, p. 5.

Recorded sources: - Decca 12090A (78 RPM), Paddy Killoran (1936). Gael-Linn CEFCD 044, Joe Cooley - "Cooley" (1963). Shanachie ‎33003, "Paddy Killoran's Back in Town" (1977). Topic Records TSCD604, Moate Ceilidhe Band - "Past Masters of Irish Dance Music" (2000. Various artists). Paddy Killoran - "From Ballymote to Brooklyn".

See also listings at:
Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [3]
Hear Paddy Killoran's 1936 recording at the Comhaltas Archive [4]