Annotation:Maids of Castlebar (The)

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MAIDS OF CASTLEBAR, THE (Gearrchailiú Chaisleán an Bharraigh). AKA - "Girls of Castlebar." AKA and see "Fall of Ballisodare (The)/Falls of Ballisodare (The)." Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Breathnach): AABB (Flaherty). "The Maid(s) of Castlebar" was recorded by Sligo fiddler Paddy Killoran in New York in the late 1930's. This reel is not to be confused with O'Neill's air "Maid of Castlebar (1)." Related tunes (particularly in the second strain) are "Barmaid (The)," "Green Mountain (2)," "Indy's Favorite," "Judy's Reel," and "Maid Behind the Bar (1) (The)." In fact, the 'Castlebar' title may be a corruption of "Maid Behind the Bar (1) (The)," or vice versa, or even an attempt on Killoran's part to distance his tune from the more familiar reel. See also the related "McFarley's" (in the first strain).

Source for notated version: fiddler Tommy Potts (Ireland) [Breathnach]; fiddler Philip Duffy (b. 1966, London, now residing in Dublin) [Flaherty].

Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ I), 1963; No. 134, p. 54. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 27. Lyth (Bowing Styles in Irish Fiddle Playing, vol. 1), 1981; 70.

Recorded sources: Coleman Heritage Center CHC 007, Paddy Killoran - "From Ballymote to Brooklyn" (2002). Lochshore CDLDL 1215, Craob Rua - "The More that's Said the Less the Better" (1992). Rounder CD 11661-7033-2, Natalie MacMaster - "My Roots are Showing" (2000).

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Hear Paddy Killoran's recording at the Comhaltas Archive [2]
Hear Sean Maguire's recording at the Comhaltas Archive [3]
Hear the tune from a 2008 Comhaltas tour [4]