Annotation:John O'Reilly (1)
X:1 T:Planxty Reilly M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Air Q:"Presto" C:”Carolan” B:Bunting – General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland (1796, No. 46) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G (3d/e/f/|(ga/g/f/e/) (f/g/a)d|{c}.B.G.G {d}.c.A.A|{c}.B.G.G (B/c/d).d|.e.g.g .g2 g/a/| (bg/a/b/g/) (c'a/b/c'/a/)|(bg).e e2 f/g/|(af/g/a/f/) (bg/a/b/g/)|(af).d d2 (e/f/)| (ga/g/f/e/) .a.d.d|.g.B.B .e.A.A|.d.G.G (gf/g/a/f/)|Tg4 {fa}g2:| |:{c}(BG).G {c}(BG).G|{d}(cA).A {d}(cA).A|Bdd d>ed/c/|B/c/dd d>ed| (bg/a/b/g/) (c'a/b/c'/a/)|(bg/a/b/g/) (af).d|e2e {g}f>ef|{ef}g2e dBG| {Bc}e2A (AB).A|(AB)A (AB).d|e2e {g}f.e.f|[B3g3]{fa}!fermata![B2g2]:|]
JOHN O'REILLY [1] (Sean O Raighilligh). AKA and see "Planxty Dobbins," "Planxty O'Reilly," "Planxty Reilly," "Wandering Bard (The)," "Molly Carew." Irish, Planxty (6/8 time). G Major (Bunting); C Major (Haverty): D Major (O'Neill). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Haverty, O'Neill): AABB (Bunting): AABBCCDD. The tune is attributed to Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738), although Donal O'Sullivan (1958), in his definitive work on the bard, could find no incontrovertible evidence of its origin. It was first published by the Neales in Dublin, c. 1724 as "Mr. John Reilly." O'Sullivan (1958) concludes the song was composed for John O'Reilly of Oristown (Baile Órtha), County Meath, near Kells, who died prior to 1742. O'Sullivan's primary source is the music manuscript collection of Anglican cleric and uilleann piper James Goodman, who collected in County Cork and Munster in the mid-19th century. It may be, notes O'Sullivan, that the last two parts of the tune (which do not appear in any earlier versions of the tune) may have been added by a piper or fiddler.
The air was adapted by Thomas Moore in his Irish Melodies for his song "Wandering Bard (The)." It is also known as "Molly Carew" in Lover's setting. It was recorded in the periodical Belfast Northern Star of July 15, 1792, as having been played in competition by one of ten Irish harp masters at the last great convocation of ancient Irish harpers, the Belfast Harp Festival, held that week. Arthur O’Neill (1734–1818), a blind harper who played at the Belfast Harp Festival and who was one of the last of the old itinerant harpers, mentions the tune in his memoirs. As a young man he toured Ireland several times and related meeting other famous harpers:
I met my namesake Peggy O’Neill. She was past child-bearing when I did meet her. She played decently on the harp. If fame don’t tell lies of her, it mentioned that she was uncommon fond of playing all Carolan’s planxties, such as ‘Planxty Connor’, ‘Planxty Reilly’, and about twenty-eight other planxties, which poor Peggy always set to music on her instrument on a C flat.
Francis O'Neill (1903) collected the tune as "Planxty Dobbins," from the playing of Chicago fiddler John McFadden, who in turn had it from uilleann piper Quinn. However, O'Neill printed the air twice in his Music of Ireland, once as "Planxty Reilly" and once under the erroneous 'Dobbins' title. The tune appears in the large mid-19th century music manuscript collection of County Cork cleric and uilleann piper Canon biography:James Goodman also under the title “Planxty Reilly," just as it appears in Book 3 of the c. 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim musician and piper biography:Stephen Grier.
