Tom McHale used to stay with the late Denis Calvert in North Down. At some stage in the late 60's or early 70's Denis sat down with Tom and recorded these 43 solo tracks, apparently in one long session. The tape was lost from view for a few years, but just before he died, it was returned to Denis who gave it to me to transcribe. At last it is done and I hope this SoundCloud posting will be a lasting tribute to Tom McHale and the man with the foresight to make the recording.

22 Down the Broom

The Piper's Despair / Matt Peoples' / The Sailor on the Rock / Dark Haired Lass

Reels

The first reel was composed by Paddy Cronin and was recorded on A Tribute to Paddy Cronin: Master Irish Fiddler by Tom Dunne. ‘As a Thoiseach’ is a reel commonly played in Cape Breton and can be found in the Simon Fraser Collection (no. 140), which is comprised of tunes collected in the Highlands and Isles of Scotland between 1715 and 1745. Another commonly used title for the tune is ‘Keep it Up’. Fiddle player, Brendan Mulvihill, recorded it as ‘Be Off’ on Dear Old Erin’s Isle: Irish Traditional Music in America in 1992, which is where I heard the tune. The third reel was composed by flute player John Blessing (1913-1993) from near Mohill, Co. Leitrim. It is often associated with accordion player, Charlie Harris.

22 Down the Broom

Deeor

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