Annotation:Four Courts (1) (The)
X:1 T:Four Courts [1], The M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:O'Neill - Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems (1907), No. 640 Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G dB|ADFD ADGB|ADFD G2 GB|ADFD ADGF|(3EFE cA G2 FG| ADFD ADGB|ADFD G2 FG|AGAc BABc|dBcA G2|| AG|F2 AF cFAG|F2 cA G2 AG|F2 AF cFAC|dBcA G2 AG| F2 AF cFAG|F2 cA G2 (3ABc|dfec dc (3ABc|dBcA G2|| dB|A2 Ac B2 Bd|ABAF G2 dB|A2 Ac B2 Bc|dBcA G2 dB| AFAc BGBd|ABAF G2 (3ABc|dfec dc (3ABc|dBcA G2||
FOUR COURTS [1], THE (Na Ceitre Cuirt). Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABC. The Four Courts is a building in Dublin situated on the banks of the River Liffey, and located on the site of a medieval abbey. It was designed by architect James Gandon, started in 1786 and, when it was completed in 1802, it became the seat of the Irish justice system. The four courts themselves are the Chancery, Exchequer, Common Pleas and the King's Bench. The building features a six-columned Corinthian portico and a lantern dome. The building was occupied, then destroyed, in 1922 during the Irish revolution but was rebuilt over 10 years to the original design. O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1903) gives the tune in two sharps, which was corrected in his later work Dance Music of Ireland (1001).
Musician and researcher Paul de Grae notes that variants of the first strain occur in "Sligo Chorus (The)", "Jennie Rock the Cradle," "Jacky Latin/Jackie Layton," and "Within a Mile of Dublin (2)"[1].
