The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

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MOLL - MOM

 

 

Notation Note: The tunes below are recorded in what is called “abc notation.” They can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then “cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC Convert-A-Matic” at

http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html 

 

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.   [AK]

 

 

 

MOLL AND TIARNA. AKA and see “Mol na Tiarna.”

 

MOLL DUBH A' GHLEANNA. AKA and see “Bean Dubh a’ Ghleanna [1].” Irish, Air. Ireland, Connemara. This Connemara melody is a variant of "Seamas Og Pluincead" (Young James Plunkett).

 

MOLL HALFPENNY/HA’PENNY. AKA and see "Molly MacAlpin," "Paul/Poll Ha'penny," "Maili Nic Ailpin," "O'Carolan's Farewell to Music," "Carolan's Dream," "(Remember the Glories of) Brian the Brave [1]." Irish, Air (4/4 time). A Minor/A Dorian. Standard tuning. AB. "This name is the same as 'Molly MacAlpin,' and the air is a dance setting, and also a song setting‑‑a very good one too‑‑of the fine air (Molly MacAlpin) to which Moore wrote his song, 'Remember the glories of Brian the Brave'" (Joyce). See also hornpipe versions under the titles of “Poll Ha’Penny.” Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 134, pgs. 68‑69. Green Linnett GLCD 1181, Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill - “The Lonesome Touch” (1997).

X:1

T:Moll Halfpenny

L:1/8

M:C

S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Minor

ed|c2A2A2Bc|dcAF G2cd|edce dcAG|A2A2A2de|f2gf e2fe|dcde g2 (3e^fg|

aged cAdc|A2A2A2||e^f|g2ga gede|g^fga gede|a2 ab c’bag|

e2aa a2ag|fagf egfe|dcde eaaf|gfed cAdc|A2A2A2||

 

MOLL IN THE WAD [1], THE.  AKA and see “Kelly the Rake.” Canadian; Jig. G Major/Minor ('A' part) & B Flat Major ('B' part, Cole; ‘C’ part, Fitzgerald]: G Minor [Messer]. Standard tuning. AABB (Cole, Messer): AA’BB’AA’CC’ (Cranford/Fitzgerald). Paul Cranford (1997) remarks that the second turn in Fitzgerald’s three-part version was likely composed by him (the first and third parts appear in Ryan’s/Cole’s. The second part of Ryan’s/Cole’s version appears as the first part of Fitzgerald’s version; the first part of Ryan’s/Coles version appears as the third part of Fitzgerlad’s version. Francis O’Neill printed a nearly identical version in his Music of Ireland (1903) under the title “Kelly the Rake” (No. 737). He also printed a single jig called “Moll in the Wad,” but it bears no resemblance to the Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)  tune, although curiously (as Paul De Grae points out) it is printed immediately following “Kelly the Rake” in his volume (No. 738). As Caoimhin Mac Aoidh suggests, perhaps O’Neill made an error in borrowing tunes from Ryan’s voulme for his own collection. Source for notated version: Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 58. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 185, pg. 73. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 142, pg. 90. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 88. Natalie MacMaster – “In My Hands.” Rounder Records 7052, Buddy MacMaster – “The Cape Breton Tradition” (2003. Learned from Cole’s 1000 Fiddle Tunes). 

X:1

T:Moll in the Wad [1]

L:1/8

M:6/8

S:Cole’s 1000

K:G

gdB gdB|gdB g2a|_bag gfg|afd dcd|gdB gdB|

gdB g2a|_bag fga|1 (g3 g2)z:|2 (g3 f2)z||

K:B_

fdB {c}BAB|fBB gBB|fdB {c}BAB|cAF FAc|fdB {c}BAB|

fBB gBB|fba gfe|1 dcB AGF|2 dcB A^Fd||

X:2

T:Moll in the Wad [1A]

L:1/8

M:6/8

S:CranfordWinston Fitzgerald

K:B_

g|fBB (BAB)|fBB gBB|fBB (BAB)|cAF FAc|fBB (BAB)|fBB gBB|

bag fed|1 cAF F2:|2 cBA GFD||

|:B3 BFD|BFD B2c|dcB BAB|cAF FGA|BFD BFD|BFD B2c|

dcB ABc|1 B3 Bdc:|2 B3 B3||

K:G

gdB gdB|gdB d2a|_bag gfg|afd def|gdB gdB|gdB g2 a|

_bag fga|1 g3 G2 a:|2 g3 {cd}=e2||

 

MOLL IN THE WAD [2], THE ("Maire Annsa Sop" or "Maire San t-Sop"). AKA – “Moll o’ the Wood.” Irish, English, Scottish; Single Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. A different tune than “Moll in the Wad [1]." The word ‘wad’ at one time signified (a bundle of) straw, so that the title means “Moll in the straw.” Moll-in-the-straw was also a euphemism for after-childbirth, and as a bawdy term for a harlot. Barry Callagahn (2007) identified Moll i’ the Wad, or Mother Goose, as a popular pantomime figure of the late 18th century. There are nursery rhymes and old songs called “Moll in the Wad.” G.F. Northall’s English Folk Rymes (1892) notes the rhymes were popular in Gloucestershire more than fifty years before, and says that ‘wad’ was pronounced wod locally.  They go:

***

Moll-in-the-wad and I fell out,

What do you think it was about?

She had money and I had none,

And that was how the work begun.

***

Moll-in-the-wad and I fell out,

What do you think it was about?

I gave her a shilling , she swore it was bad,

It’s an old soldier’s button says Moll-in-the-wad.

***

Moll-in-the-wad and I fell out,

What do you think it was about?

I gave her a shilling, she wanted a crown,

So I took up my fist and I knock’d her down.

***

Moll-in-the-wad and I fell out,

What do you think it was about?

I gave her a shilling, she said it was bad,

You may go to the devil, said Moll-in-the-wad.

***

Washington Irving wrote a sketch of a going to the theatre in 1802 in New York, where he commented on the habits of the audience who were much more ‘interactive’ in the theatre than today:

***

What I heard of the music, I liked very well (though I was told by one of my neighbors

that the same pieces have been played every night for these three years;) but it was often

overpowered by the gentry in the gallery, who vociferated ludly for Moll in the wad, Tally

ho the grinders, and several other airs more suited to their tastes. 

***

There were several racehorses named Moll in the Wad, notabley a thoroughbred mare born in 1810, descended from the great Matchem (1748). Gow labels the tune “Irish," but it was played in Scotland and northern England as well. Breathnach (1996) says in Ireland it is “the tune that the old cow died on, an tiun do mhairbh an tseanbhó.” This is probably the same saying that Samuel Bayard says is derived from the story of a cow so entranced by a farmer's song that she danced herself to death. The title became for a time a phrase characterizing any extremely bad piece of music (see note for “The Tune the Old Cow Died Of”).

***

The melody was transformed by morris dance musicians in the village of Leafield (“Fieldtown”), Oxfordshire, into a common-time piece under the title “Old Molly Oxford” (a corruption or miss-hearing of the title “Moll in the Wad”).

***

The melody appears in a number of publications and musicians’ manuscripts of the late 18th and 19th centuries. It appears in the John Fife (Perthshire) music copybook of 1780-1804, Williams Andrews (Sheepstor, Devon, late 19th c.), John Clare (Helpston, Northants, 1820), Ellis Knowles (see below), William Mittell (New Romney, Kent, 1799) and, in America, in Ira Clark’s (Simsbury, Conncecticut) music copybook c. 1801 and Josiah Adams (Framingham, Massachusetts) copybook of tunes with country dances of 1808-1818. Printed versions are in John Ives’ Twenty-four Figures of the Most Fahsionable Country Dances…Cotillions (New Haven, CT, 1799), the Phinney’s Select Collection of the Newest and Most Favorite Country Dances (Ostego, N.Y., 1808), J. Wilson’s Pocket Preceptor for the Fife (London, 1805-1813), Salator’s Treatise on Dancing (Boston, MA, 1807), Riley’s Flute Melodies, vol. 2 (New York, 1817-1820), James Aird’s Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 5 (Glasgow, 1797), the Cahusac’s Compleat Tutor for the German Fife (London, c. 1798), and others.

***

Source for notated version: the music manuscript book of Ellis Knowles, a musician from Radcliffe, Lancashire, England, written c. 1845-1847 [Plain Brown]. Callaghan (Hardcore English), 2005; pg. 61. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; pg. 18. O’Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. II), c. 1806; pg. 128. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 737, pg. 137. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 374, pg. 76. Plain Brown Tune Book, 1997; pg. 14. Wilson (Companion to the Ballroom), 1816. Edison 50870 (78 RPM), Joseph Samuels, 1919 (appears as 3rd tune in "St. Patrick's Day Medley").

X:1

T:Moll in the Wadd (sic) [2]

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Gow – 1st Repository  (1799)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

c|BAB G2F|E2F G2c|BAB G2B|AFD D2c|BAB G2F|E2F G2c|

BcB {^c}d2B|AFD D2:||:c|BGB {Bc}d2c|BGB {Bc}d2c|BGB d2B|

ecA A2c|BGB {Bc}d2c|BGB def|{ef}g>fe dcB|AFD D2:|

 

MOLL NA TIAR NA. Irish, Reel. Ireland, County Donegal. C Major. Standard tuning. ABB’C. Source for notated version: fiddlers Francie and Mickey Byrne (County Donegal) [Feldman & O’Doherty]. Feldman & O’Doherty (The Northern Fiddler), 1979; pg. 165. 

 

MOLL O' THE WOOD. English, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. See “Moll in the Wadd.” Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 114.

 


MOLL PATELY. AKA – “Moll Peatly.” AKA and see “Mall Peatly.” English, Air and Country Dance Tune. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. The tune appears in John Playford’s (1622-1686) English Dancing Master of 1670 (pg. 95) where it appears as “Moll Peatly or the old marinett.“ John Gay used the tune for a song in his ballad opera Achilles. It was mentioned in the satirical newspaper The Spectator (1711-1712) in an article on country dancing, purportedly in a letter written by a country squire outraged at the spectacle of seeing his sixteen-year-old daughter dancing in public for the first time:

***

As the best institutions’ are liable to corruption, so, sir, I must

acquaint you that very great abuses are crept into this entertainment.

I was amazed to see my girl handed by and handing young fellows

with so much familiarity, and I could not have thought it had been

my child. They very often made use of a most impudent and

lascivious step called setting to partners, which I know not how to

describe to you but by telling you that it is the very reverse of back

to back.

***

At last an impudent young Dog bid the Fidlers play a Dance

called Mol Patley, and after having mad two or three Capers,

ran to his Partner, locked his Arms in hers, and whisked her

round cleverly above Ground in such manner, that I who sat

upon one of the lowest Benches, saw further above her Shoe

than I can think fit to acquaint you with. I could no longer

endure these Enormities; wherefore just as my Girl was going

to be made a Whirligig, I ran in, seized the Child, and carried

her home.

***

Dorian 90290, Hesperus – “The Food of Love.” Familiar Records FAM 47, Pyewackett ‑ "7 To Midnight" (1985).

         

MOLL PINTLEY. English. England, Northumberland. One of the "missing tunes" of William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance tune manuscipt. It is perhaps "Moll Pately."

         

MOLL ROE{'S} [1] (Maire Ruaid). AKA and see "Moll Roe in the Morning," "Mall Rua," "Sweet Molly Roe," "One Bumper At Parting," "The Munsterman's Flattery," "The Market Stake," "Ditherum Doodle," "Though late was I plump," "Come under my Dimity," "The Night of the Fun [3]," "B'fhearr liomsa ainnir gan guna," "I'll take a glass with a friend," "Jig an da Thuistiun." Irish, Slip Jig and Air. G Minor (Cole): G Major (O’Farrell, O'Neill): D Major (Breathnach/CRE II). Standard tuning. AB (O'Neill/1850 & 1001): AABB (Breathnach/CRE II, Cole, O’Farrell, O'Neill/Krassen). Moll Roe is an anglicization of the Irish Mall (Máire) Ruadh, or Red (haired) Mary. This was a pipe tune written in praise of Miss Molly Roe, the daughter of Mr. Andrew Roe of Tipperary. The ten verses of the song attached to it were composed impromptu by several gentlemen at the County Tipperary Clubhouse in 1725, the last of which goes:

***

Come fill up in bumpers your glasses,

And let the brown bowl overflow;

Here's health to the brightest of lasses,

The queen of all toasts‑‑Molly Roe.

***

Another, earlier, source for the title is given by Paul de Grae, who remarks:

***

The "Moll Roe" referred to was  an actual historical person, a redoubtable

17th century lady called Ma/ire Ruadh Ni/ Mahon, thrice-married chatelaine

of Leamaneh Castle in County Clare, whose impressive remains stand beside
the road from Ennis up to The Burren (the castle's remains, that is, not Ma/ire

Ruadh's).  She was a formidable character, who lost her second husband, Conor

O’Brien (who built Leamaneh Castle on the occasion of their wedding in 1639,

grafting it on to an existing 15th century tower house),  fighting

Cromwell's invading army.  When his grieving soldiers bore his body back to

the castle, she shouted from the battlements, "We want no dead men here!",

and refused them entrance.  She subsequently married one of Cromwell's

lieutenants (thereby securing the castle and lands for her young son), Coronet

John Cooper, but some time later when husband no. 2 made some disparaging

remark about husband no. 1,  she kicked him from an upstairs window and

killed him. I don't know who husband no. 3  was, but he must have been a very

brave (or foolish) man indeed.

***

"A contemporary portrait of this redoubtable lady shows her to have been
no beauty, though magnificently dressed in a rich gown with a broad lace collar

and adorned with many jewels." ("The Houses of Ireland", by Brian de Breffny

and Rosemary ffolliott, p.45).

***

The tune was introduced under the name "Moll Rue" in Henry Brooke's Jack the Giant Queller in 1748, and it was also called "Moll Rue in the Morning." It appeared in O'Keefe's Poor Soldier in 1783, and in O'Farrell's A Pocket Companion for the Irish Pipes in 1810.

***

In the journal Ceol (volume 2, No. 4) we are informed that "Moll Roe," as found in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (No. 441), is a common name for the tune to the song "Taim in Arrears." Breathnach says O’Neill also prints variants under the titles “Ditherum Doodle", "Moll Roe in the Morning", "Though late I was plump" and "Munsterman's Flattery." As “I’ll Take a Glass with a Friend” it appears in O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion (printed before 1811). Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) has versions as “Moll Roe’s” and “Come Under My Dimity,” while Goodman gives it as “Late on a Saturday Night” is a variant printed by Goodman, and identifies “The Night of Fun” as a variant. 

***

Source for notated version: accordion player James Gannon, 1960 (Dublin, Ireland) [Breathnach/CRE II]. Breathnach (CRÉ II), 1976; No. 93, pg. 51. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 68. O’Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. IV), c. 1810; pg. 99. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 87. O'Neill (Muisic of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1169, pg. 220. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 441, pg. 86. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 98. Rounder 0215, James Bryan ‑ "The First of May."

X:1

T:Moll Roe

M:9/8

L:1/8

R:Slip Jig

S:O’Neill – Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems (1907), No. 441

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

DGG GAG FGA|BGB cAB c2c|DGG GAG FGA|BGB cAF G2 G/F/|

DGG GAG FGA|BGB cAB c2 B/c/|ded cAG FGA|BGB cAF G2||

B/c/|ded cAG FGA|ded cAB c2 B/c/|ded cAG FGA|BGB cAF G2 B/c/|

ded cAG FGA|ded cAB c2 d/e/|fed cAG FGA|BdB cAF G2||

 

MOLL ROE [2]. Irish, Slip Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AB. Source for notated version: piper Liam Ó Floinn (Kildare) [Breathnach/Man & his Music]. Breathnach (The Man and his Music), 1996; No. 2, pg. 102.

X:1

T:Moll Roe

M:9/8

L:1/8

R:Slip Jig

S:Breathnach – Man & his Music

K:G

A|BGG AGE GED|EGD DEG A3|BGG AGE GED|EGD DEF G3||

Bdd edd BAG|Bdd edB A3|Bdd edd BAG|GED DEF G3||

 

MOLL ROE [3]. See note for “Taim in Arrears.”

         

MOLL ROE IN THE MORNING. AKA and see "Moll Roe{‘s} [1]." Irish, Slip Jig. D Major/Mixolydian (Cole, Kerr, Ryan): G Major (Kennedy). Standard tuning. AABB. A setting of “Moll Roe.” Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 52. Kennedy (Fiddler’s Tune-Book: Slip Jigs and Waltzes), 1999; No. 50, pg. 12. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 244, pg. 27. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 98. Rounder 0215, James Bryan ‑ "The First of May."

X:1

T:Moll Roe in the Morning

M:9/8

L:1/8

R:Slip Jig

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

A | ddd efd cde | fff gef (g2A) | ddd efd cde | fga gec d2 :|

|: A | aff ged cde | aff gef g3 | aff ged cde | fga gec d2 :|

         

MOLL ROE ON TOP OF THE CASTLE. AKA and see "Moll Roe('s) [1]," "Mall Rua."

         


MOLL ROONE. Irish, March or Air. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. The tune contains much melodic material from the English melody "The Nutting Girl." Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; vol. 3, No. 69. Tradition TLP 1024, Mary O'Hara.

         

MOLL SHURKIE'S. Irish, Dance Tune (2/4 time). A Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune is labelled a ‘jig’ in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, referring not to the familiar 6/8 time Irish jig, but rather to a type of syncopated 19th century (clog-type) dance tune often played on the banjo. They were sometimes called “straight” jigs or “sand” jigs (the latter from the practice of spreading sand on the stage to reduce friction during a dance performance). Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 81. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 113.

X:1

T:Moll Shurkie’s

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Clog dance tune

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Dorian

A/B/ | [Ac]B [A/c/<]A/ z/c/ | B/^G/ A/<E/ z/B/ | [Ac]B [A/c/<]A/z/A/ | G,/<G,/z/C/ A>B |

[Ac]B [A/c/<]A/ z/c/ | B/^G/ A/<E/ z/B/ | [Ac]B [A/c/<]a | ({c}B/)A/^G A :|

|: A | A2 {A/4B/4c/4d/4}e/e/z/c/ | B/A/^G/B/ A/<E/z/E/ | c2 {c/4d/4e/4f/4} =g/g/z/c/ |

B/A/^G Az/A/ | A2 {A/4B/4c/4d/4}e/e/z/c/ | B/A/^G/B/ A/<E/z/B/ | [Ac]B [Ac<]a | ({c}B/)A/^G A :|

         

MOLLIE BRANNIGAN. AKA and see "Garranta Glasa Mheiricea," "The Greenfields of America [1]," "Judy Brannigan/Brallaghan," "Charming Molly Brannigan," "Jimmy O'Brien's Jig," "Cossey's Jig."

         

MOLLIE MACALPIN (Maire Ni Mic Alpin). Irish, Air (4/4 time). A Minor. Standard tuning. AB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 193, pg. 34.

         

MOLLIE McCARTHY. See "Molly McCarthy." Irish, Reel

                                         

MOLLIE McCARTHY’S JIG NO. 1. Irish, Jig. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Mollie McCarthy (b. 1896) of Shean Kilmaley, who had her 104th birthday in the year 2000. Treoir, vol. 32, No. 3, 2000; pg. 33.

X:1

T:Mollie McCarthy’s Jig No. 1

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

K:D Mixolydian

|:ded BAB|cBc A2 F|DGG Acc|BGG ABc|ded BAB|cBc A2F|DGG Acc|BGG G3:|

|:gfe d2d|edB B2d|eaa a2 g|fag fed|gfe d2d|edB B2d|eaa a2g|fdd d3:|

                             

MOLLIE'S BONNET. AKA and see "Molloy's Night Cap."

         

MOLLOY'S FAVOURITE [1]. Irish, Reel. D Major/Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. A double tonic tune. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 64, pg. 16.

X:1

T:Molloy’s Favourite [1]

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

K:D

c|d2 AG FADF|E=c {d}(3cBc Ec {d}(3cBc|dBcA BGAG|FGEF Dgfe|

d2 AG FADG|(3EFG AB =c2 Bc|(3d=cB cA BGAG|FGEG FDD:|

|:g|fd (3ddd fdge|fd (3ddd cdeg|fd (3ddd fdad|faeg fddg|

fd (3ddd ad (3ddd|e=c (3ccc gc (3ccc|afge fded|ceag fdd:|

 

MOLLOY'S FAVOURITE [2]. AKA and see “Colonel Fraser,” “Green Fields of Ireland,” “Malloy’s Favorite.” Irish, Reel.

 

MOLLOY'S FAVOURITE [3]. AKA – “Molloy’s.” Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB.

X:1

T:Molloy’s Favorite [3]

M:4/4

L:1/8
R:Reel

K:D

d2Ad fdAF | GFEF GABc | d2Ad fdAF | GBAG FD D2 :||

fg{a}gf g2ag | fg{a}gf gfeg | fg{a}gf gbag | faeg fddA |

dfaf g2ag | fg{a}gf gfeg | fedc dcBA | ^GABc defe ||

                     

MOLLOY'S FAVORITE (JIG). Irish, Jig. E Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB.

         

MOLLOY’S JIG. AKA ‑ "Malloy's Favorite." AKA and see AKA and see “Ballinamere Jig,” “Father Morrison’s Delight,” “Molloy’s Favorite (Jig),” “Moss Martin’s,” “O’Connell’s Welcome to Dublin.” “Paddy Carty’s Favourite,” “Tongs by the Fire [2],” “Tony Molloy’s.” Irish, Double Jig. E Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune has South Sligo associations. Recorded by County Tipperary fiddler Sean Ryán (d. 1985) & P.J. Moloney. A variant of “Contentment is Wealth.” Sources for notated versions: Brendan Mulvihill (Baltimore, Md.) [Mulvihill]; a 1960 Avoca recording of fiddler Seán Ryan & P.J. Moloney [Miller &Perron]. Cotter (Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor), 1989; 50. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; 64. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; vol. 2, No. 29. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; pg. 28. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 44, pg. 74. Avoca 33‑AV‑121, "Traditional Music of Ireland, vol. VI." Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 167, Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington – “The Merry Love to Play” (2007). Compass Records 7 4446 2,Oisíin McAuley – “From the Hills of Donegal” (2007).

See also listings at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:Molloy’s Jig

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

D:Sean Ryan and PJ Moloney LP

Z:Stephen Jones

K:Em

gfg edB | BAB EFG | FEF DFA | dAF AFD |!

gfg edB | BAB EGA | BdB AGF | GEE E3  :||!

e3 Beg  | bge gfe | ded Adf | afd fed  |!

e3 Beg  | bge gfe | BdB AGF | GEE E2  :||!

         

MOLLOY'S NIGHT CAP. AKA and see "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "The Pigeon on the Gate [1]," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "The Swallow's Tail Reel," "Take your Hand Away," "The Village Reel."

         

MOLLOY’S REEL. Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Source for notated version: Brendan Mulvihill (Baltimore, Md.) [Mulvihill]. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 54, pg. 14.

         


MOLLY ASTHORE (Molly My Treasure). AKA and see "The harp that once through Tara's halls," "Gramachree," "Little Molly O!"  Irish, Air (2/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning. One part. Thomas Moore used this popular air for his famous song "The harp that once through Tara's halls," taking it probably from Thomson's Scottish Airs, set I (1793), according to O'Sullivan (1983). The word 'asthore' is a phonetic spelling of the Gaelic 'a stoir,' meaning 'my store' or 'my treasure,' while the alternate title 'Gramachree,' phonetic for 'gradh mo chroidhe' means 'love of my heart.' O'Sullivan finds the earliest printing of the tune in William McGibbon's Scots Tunes, book II (1746) under the title "Will you go to Flanders" (a version reprinted in Moffat's Minstrelsy of Ireland, pg. 351). The Irish collector Edward Bunting collected a triple-time melody called "Molly Bheag O" (Little Molly O!) which he maintains was more ancient and the original source of "Molly Asthore," though O'Sullivan demurs, asserting that, while there is a connection between the two tunes, there is no evidence that one is older than the other. Source for notated version: Bunting noted the tune (along with "Little Molly O!") from the harper Charles Fannin in 1792, according to the index of his 1840 collection. O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983; No. 62, pgs. 95-97.

         

MOLLY ASTHOREEN. Irish, Air (3/4 time, “rather slow”). F Minor. Standard tuning. AB. See also “The Dewy Morning” and, in the major tonality, “When I am dead and my days are over, come Molly astoreen and lay me down.”  Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 447, pg. 113.

X:1

T:Molly Asthoreen

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 447, pg. 113

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:F Minor

C/=D/4=E/4 FG | A2 G=E F>F | e2 f>e cB | A>F GF/E/ FB | E2 C/=D/4E/4 FG |

(A2 G)F/=E/ FF | e2 f>e cB | A>F Gc FF | F3 || A/B/ c=d/=e/ | f2 gf e=d | e2 GA/B/ cc |

B2 AG FB | E2 C=D/=E/ FG | A2 GF/=E/ FF | e2 fe cB | A>F Gc FF | F3 ||

         

MOLLY AT THE FAIR. Irish?, Reel. F Sharp Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. Hardings All Round Collection, 1905; No. 69, pg. 21.

X:1

T:Molly at the Fair

M:C

L:1/8

R:Reel or March

B:Harding’s All Round Collection, No. 69  (1905)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

AB|c2F2c2B2|A2 (GA) F2 (EF)|(AG).A.B (cB).c.e|f2 (Bc) B2 (AB)|c2 (ce) (dc)(BA)|

B2c2a2g2|(fa).f.e (cB)c^e|f2 FG F2::cd|e3f fedc|a2 ef e2 ag|

f3g (ag)ab|c2 cd c2 ed|c2a2 (ec).B.A|B2c2 a2g2|(fa).f.e (cB).c.^e|f2 FG F2:|