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Jackie Donnan - 2
These dance tunes played by Jackie Donnan were recorded in the early 1970s.
Hornpipe - Murphy's Hornpipe
Murphy's Hornpipe was played regularly in the weekly Comber (Castle Inn) throughout the 1970's and into the early 1980's. It was usually started by Jackie and probably introduced by him.
Murphy's HornpipeJackie Donnan
00:00 / 03:01
The following hornpipes - the Blackbird and the Homeruler, the Bunch of Ferns, and the Flowing Tide - were all also played regularly in the Comber session of the 1970s. Again usually initiated by Jackie with, depending on the tune, different musicians taking them up.
The Peacock's Feather was usually played in the set following the Blackbird and the Homeruler. The Homeruler was composed by fiddler Frank McCollam of Ballycastle, County Antrim.
Hornpipes - the Blackbird and the Homeruler
The Blackbird & the Homeruler (Hornpipes)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 03:16
Hornpipe - the Flowing Tide
The Flowing Tide (Hornpipe)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:33
Hornpipe - the Bunch of Ferns
The Bunch of Ferns (Hornpipe)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:33
The following three jig sets were all popular and played regularly in the Wednesday night Comber session -
The Rafters over the Waves, the Whistler at the Wake, the Old Flail, and the Butcher's March
The Old Favourite and the Rambling Pitchfork
Molloy's
The Whistler at the Wake and the Old Flail are compositions of flute player Vincent Broderick.
Jigs - the Rafters over the Waves, the Whistler at the Wake, the Old Flail & the Butcher's March
Rafters over the Waves (Jigs)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 04:41
Jigs - the Old Favourite & the Rambling Pitchfork
The Old Favourite & the Rambling Pitchfork (Jigs)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 02:06
Jig - Molloy's
Molloy's (Jigs)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:35
Jackie never had a name for this polka.
Polka - Untitled Polka from Jackie Donnan
Untitled Polka Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:34
Jackie Donnan recorded the following dance tunes for his friend Willie Lindsay to learn the fiddle from.
Jigs - I Lost my Love & the Devil set sail wi my Darlin'
Jackie learned I Lost my Love and I Care nae for fiddler Tommy Orr from Butcher's Corner, Toye and the Devil set sail wi my Darlin' from Toye Willie Savage. The Devil set sail wi my Darlin' is generally known as the Rakes of Kildare.
I Lost my Love, the Devil set Sail with my Darling (Jigs)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 02:15
Jigs/Quadrilles tunes - the Moorhall Jig & the White House Lassie
Jackie learned the Moorhall Jig from Jimmy Savage (1901 - 1978) from Balloo from Craigarusky, Killinchy who played the fiddle in the Craigarusky String Band. He learned The White House Lass from Willie McCloy from Derryboye who, in turn, learned it from his mentor John Simpson (1836 - 1921).
Moorhall Jig & the White House Lass (Jigs)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 02:15
Jigs/Quadrilles tune - Maggie McGeag let go o'ma Leg
Jackie learned Maggie McGeag let go o'ma leg or I'll proddle ye ma horney O! from Toye Willie Savage (1880 - 1956) from Toye, Killinchy. They played it for the 6th and last figure of the Quadrilles. He learned the second tune Yankee Doodle from a long line of fiddlers from Central Down - initially from Davy Gray, from Sammy Thompson from Jimmy Ward (1865 - 1944). Ward played Yankee Doodle for the 1st figure of the Quadrilles, whereas over a century later Jackie occasionally played it for the last figure of the Quadrilles.
Maggie McGeag (Jigs/Quadrille Tunes)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:44
Polka/Quadrilles tune - the Wearied Soldier
This is another tune that Jackie learned from a long line of fiddlers from Central Down; Davy & Robbie Gray from Sammy Thompson from Jimmy Ward (1865 - 1944). The polka The Wearied Soldier was played for the two-hand dance The Laughing Gauger, a hop/skip polka.
The Wearied Soldier (hop/skip Polka)Jackie Donnan
00:00 / 01:44
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