Turlough O’Carolan, also called Terence Carolan, was born near Nobber in County Meath in 1670, the son of a blacksmith. He died in in Alderford, County Roscommon in 1738. He went to school in Cruisetown, which is in the Parish of Nobber. At the age of 14, when Cromwell’s army arrived, his family were forced to head west to Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, and then to nearby Ballyfarnon, County Roscommon, where his father took a job with the MacDermott Roe family. Mrs MacDermott Roe befriended Carolan and gave him an education in which he showed a talent in poetry. After being blinded by smallpox at the age of eighteen, Carolan was apprenticed by Mrs MacDermott Roe to a good harper. When Carolan reached the age of twenty-one, she gave him a horse and a guide and he set out on the career of an itinerant harpist, to travel through Connacht and Ulster.
Coming to the harp relatively late in life, Carolan’s fingers were not as nimble as they might have been and he was never considered a master performer but was highly regarded for his poetry, improvised verse and musical compositions. He had the knack of friendship and was also cheerful, sociable and, apparently, a hard drinker. In those days harpists were well respected and Carolan was welcomed into the homes of the gentry He repaid their hospitality with his music, dedicating his tunes and songs to his hosts.
Most of Carolan's compositions were not published or even written down in his lifetime. They survived in the aural tradition in the repertoires of fiddlers, pipers and harpers. They were collected during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, largely beginning with the work of, Armagh born organist, Edward Bunting, who published the tunes in keys popular on the piano. However Donal O'Sullivan’s book The Life Times and Music of an Irish Harper is rightly considered the bible for Carolan tunes and has been the main source of tunes in this book.
The tune settings in this book are basically derived from a combination of two sources: O’Sullivan’s book and performances on You Tube. The notes themselves are mainly from O’Sullivan’s book, however the keys and repeats have been mostly chosen from You Tube performances. As much as possible the tunes are presented in keys preferred by present day Irish session musicians: G, D, A, Am, and Em. As much as possible, notes above the B on the first leger line above the stave have been avoided. Also, difficult “slow air” type tunes have not been included. Feel feel free to miss out notes where they are “crammed” together. It’s likely that many musicians will prefer to ignore the grace notes.
Contents
All Alive
Alloway House
Baptist Johnston
Betty McNeill
Betty O'Brien
Blind Mary
Bridget Cruise (Fourth Air)
Bumper Squire Jones
Captain Magan
Captain O'Kane
Captain Sudley
Carolan's Cap
Carolan's Concerto
Carolan's Cottage
Carolan's Cup
Carolan's Dowry
Carolan's Draught
Carolan's Dream
Carolan's Farewell to Music
Carolan's Favourite Jig
Carolan's Frolic
Carolan's Maggot
Carolan's Quarrel
Carolan’s Receipt
Carolan's Welcome
Catherine Martin
Charles O'Conor
Clergy's Lamentation, The
Colonel John Irwin
Colonel O’Hara
Conor O'Reilly
Constantine Maguire
Counsellor Dillon
Cremonea
Doctor John Stafford
Doctor MacMahon
Dolly MacDonough
Donal O’Brien
Edward Corcoran
Edward Dodwell
Eleanor Plunkett
Elizabeth MacDermott Roe
Father Brian MacDermott Roe
Fine Toast to Hewlett, A
Frank Palmer
George Brabazon (First Air)
George Brabazon (Second Air)
George Reynolds
Gerald Dillon
Grace Nugent
Henry MacDermott Roe (First Air)
Henry MacDermott Roe (Second Air)
Henry MacDermott Roe (Third Air)
Hewlett
Hugh Kelly
Hugh O’Donnell
Isabella Burke
James Daly
James Plunkett
John Drury (First Air)
John Drury (Second Air)
John Kelly
John Jameson
John MacDermott
John O’Connor
John Peyton
Kean O’Hara (First Air)
Kean O’Hara (Second Air)
Kean O’Hara (Third Air)
Kitty Magennis
Lady Athenry
Lady Gethin
Lady Laetitia Burke
Lady St. John
Lament for Terence MacDonough
Landlady, The
Lord Inchiquin
Mabel Kelly
Mary O’Neill
Miss Fetherston
Maurice O'Connor (First Air)
Maurice O'Connor (Second Air)
Mervyn Pratt
Miss Fetherston
Miss Goulding
Miss MacDermott
Miss MacMurray
Morgan Magan
Mrs Anne MacDermott Roe
Mrs Bermingham (First Air)
Mrs Fallon
Mrs Maxwell
Mrs Power
Mrs O'Conor
Nancy Cooper (First Air)
O’Flinn
O'Rourkes’ Feast, The
Ode to Whiskey
One Bottle More
Peggy Morton
Planxty Burke
Planxty Charles Coote
Planxty Crilly
Planxty Dillon
Planxty Drew
Planxty Drury
Planxty Fanny Power
Planxty Hewlett
Planxty Hugh O’Donnell
Planxty Irwin
Planxty James
Planxty Jameson
Planxty Madam Maxwell
Planxty Maguire
Planxty Miss Burke
Planxty O’Flinn
Planxty O’Rourke (First Air)
Planxty Plunket
Planxty Sweeney
Planxty Wilkinson
Princess Royal
Richard Cusack
Robet Hawkes
Thomas Morres Jones
Separation of Soul and Body, The
Sheebeg and Sheemore
Sir Charles Coote
Squire Parsons
Squire Woods Lamentation
Thomas Judge
Two William Davises, The
William Ward
Simply Carolan
Presented in this book are 108 tunes attributed to, or written in the style of, the Irish harper and composer Turlough O’Carolan. They are presented in keys which reflect present day Irish music sessions; mainly G, D, A, Am, Em, and Bm; plus a few in the less popular keys of F, C, Dm and Gm. The tunes are arranged in lines of 4 or 8 bars to make reading as easy as possible. Chord suggestions have been added as a guide for accompanists.