Annotation:Dinkie Dorrian's

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DINKIE DORRIAN'S. AKA - "Dinkie's," "Dinky Dorian's." AKA and see "Dinky's." Irish, Reel (cut time). Ireland, County Donegal. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'B (Taylor/Tweed), AABB' (Songer): AA'BB' (Cranford/Stubbert). A popular County Donegal reel composed (and popularized) by Francie Dearg (red-haired) Byrne of Cashel, Kilcar, southwest Donegal in honor of a friend, Hughie 'Dinkie' Dorrian, who was from Killibegs and either a butcher-fiddler, or (according to Caoimhin Mac Aoidh) a gaelic footballer and renowned step-dancer. Supposedly this was Dorrian's favorite tune to step-dance to. Byrne's brother Mickey Ban (fair-haired) also played the tune. According to Cranford (1994) the tune was introduced to Cape Breton by a visiting Irish fiddler, Dermot McLaughlin, of Derry (although an exponent of the Donegal tradition), who learned it from Byrne. Karen Tweed remarks that the tune was "extremely popular in sessions in the early '80's."

Source for notated version: French fiddler Vincent Blin [Taylor/Tweed].

Printed sources: Cranford (Brenda Stubbert's), 1994; No. 18, p. 7. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 62 (appears as "Dinky's Reel"). Taylor (Traditional Irish Music: Karen Tweed's Irish Choice), 1994; p. 16.

Recorded sources: Brenda Stubbert - "House Sessions" (1992). DMPCD 9401, Karen Tweed - "Drops of Springwater" (1994). Green Linnet SIF-1095, Altan - "Horse with a Heart" (1989. Learned from Dinky Dorrian, a travelling musician, via Francie Byrne). Dara C013, De Dannann - "Anthem" (1985)

See also listings at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index [2]

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