O'Sullivan's March

jig

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on November 30th 2003 by Will Harmon.

This tune has been added to 312 tunebooks.

Also known as A Rock And A Wee Pickle Tow, The Burnt Old Man, Captain Collins, The First Clan March Of The O'Sullivans, Lilliburlero, Mairseail Ui Shulleabhain, March Of The O'Sullivans, The March Of The O'Sullivans, O'Sullivan's Clan March, The Old Hag Tossed Up In A Blanket, Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket, The Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket, O’Sullivan’s March, The Rock And The Wee Pickle Tow, Rock And Wee Pickle Tow, Sullivan's March, Sweeping The Cobwebs Out Of The Sky, Sweeping The Cobwebs Out Of The Sky, Sweeping The Cobwebs Out Of The Sky, The Wee Pickle Tow.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

1691 by Na Casaidigh
A Moment Of Madness by Brendan Begley And Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh
An Clár Geal by Alasdair White
An Traidisiun Beo by Angelina Carberry
Celtic Mouth Music by Various Artists
Citternalia by Joseph Sobol
Comb Your Hair And Curl It by Catherine McEvoy, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh
Down The Back Lane by Chulrua
Driven Bow by Alasdair Fraser And Jody Stecher
Eavesdropper by Kevin Burke And Jackie Daly
Film Cuts by The Chieftains
FYH by Brendan Begley And Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh
Happy Hour by Donal Murphy
Irish Heritage: Ireland's Musical Tradition (CD 1) by Various Artists
King Of The Melodeon Men by Jimmy Shand
May Morning Dew by Mick O'Brien
Morris On by Morris On
Relativity by Relativity
Seisiún Ceoil Bhéal Feirste by Various Artists
Set Dancing Downunder by The Coast Ceili Band
Seudan by Seudan
The Best Of The Chieftains by The Chieftains
The Celtic Album by Boston Pops
The Chieftains 7 by The Chieftains
The Fiddle Music Of Donegal - Volume One by Various Artists
The Fine Art Of Piping by Liam O'Flynn
The Story So Far by John Creavan
Traditional Flute Music In The Sligo-Roscommon Style by Catherine McEvoy With Felix Dolan
Traditional Irish Tunes Played On The Tin Whistle (1/2) by Geraldine Cotter
Uilleann Pipes by Pat Mitchell
Within A Mile Of Dublin by Paul O'Shaughnessy And Paul McGrattan

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: O'Sullivan's March
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
D |: GBA ABd | edB A2 G | GBA ~B3 |1 AGG G2 D :|2 AGG G2 g ||
|: e2 g e2 g | ege edB | ded dBd | deB {d}BAG |
cBc dcd | e/f/gB A2 G | GBA ~B3 |1 AGG G2 g :|2 AGG G2 D ||
|: GAB dBA | GAB ~B3 | GAB edB | dBA A2 B |
GAB dBA | BAB ~g3 | fed edB |1 dBA A2 D :|2 dBA A2 B ||
|: dBB gBB | dBB d2 e | dBB gfg | edB A2 B/A/ |
GAB dBA | BAB ~g3 | fed edB | dBA A2 B :|

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

O'Sullivan's March

I learned this off a Chieftains recording ages ago--I hope it's the same tune as requested recently, in reference to the naval war movie (which I haven't seen yet).

Play it with all the pomp and swagger you can muster.

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Will Harmon

O sullivan's march

yup- same tune; found it on my vinyl chieftains 7 album

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by I_Fel

Oh good. Nice that they're using real trad music in the movie. I've always liked this tune.

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Will Harmon

Dont know how trad it is Will, as I said before my cousins wife is on the so wouldnt be very tradish I'm guessing!

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by bb

I mean on the 'album' obviously!

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by bb

This is one my favorite marches, beside the King of Laois.

-Max

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Max Becher

Ah, but Bridie, the tune is in the 1907 edition of O'Neill's. That's trad enough for me.

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Will Harmon

yah - but its how its played isnt it? ie whats that other tune somebody posted from that other movie - it ended up getting deleted?

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by bb

You've lost me, unless we're talking about Celine Dion again :-|

I have no idea how it sounds in the movie (though the trailers look like fun), but I've always played O'Sullivan's as a straight trad march, pretty much as notated here. I'm assuming that's what felinoba was looking for.

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Will Harmon

This tune is in the depths of my repertoire somewhere, but I play it slightly differently I think. Looks like it didn't pass the bb tradness test :-)

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by Dr. Dow

no no, sorry - just talking about how its ok to use tunes in a movie and all but Ive never heard them actually do it well (ie Titanic). Just going on my own little tangent - ignore me

# Posted on November 30th 2003 by bb

O'Sullivan's March

# Posted on December 1st 2003 by radriano

O'Sullivan's March

Sorry, for some reason I thought this was listed as Sullivan's March, hence the first line of my comment.

# Posted on December 1st 2003 by radriano

I learned this tune about 2 years ago from harper Michael Rooney at a workshop at my teacher's house. I kind of wanted to see the movie before, but now I really want to see it. Any other Irish tunes in it?

# Posted on December 1st 2003 by Andee

Bridie, some movies do all right with the music. There's a bad movie with Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford about gun running to Ireland that has some great tunes in it, including a set of jigs (Lark in the Morning, etc.) played by real trad musos, on screen, as a house ceili.

# Posted on December 1st 2003 by Will Harmon

Yeah - I saw that movie Will, wasnt it joannie maddens dad in it or something? One of the few - but I do know what you are saying.

# Posted on December 1st 2003 by bb

Master and Commander

Yep, they play it in the movie..

But.. I'm not entirely sure it is correct. The movie takes place in teh late 17, early 1800s, somewhere around Napoleon.. I can't remember.

When I researched this tune, the first time I saw it as O'Sullivan's march was on Rob Roy... Originally it was Old Hag Tosse Up In A Blanket, and in the movie Roby Roy was paired, by the Chieftains, with 'Burnt Old Man' to make a March set for the British...

If it's in O'Neill's, I don't think it goes earlier than 1907 then. To say the least it isn't at all correct for the 1680's in Rob Roy.

# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Oranaiche

I am almost sure that when I was taught this tune, I was told that when a march is in 6/8 that it means it's really old. I don't know what "really old means", but I would assume older than 1907 for sure. I could be wrong, or maybe Michael Rooney was mistaken.

# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Andee

The other trad tune in the movie (Master and Commander) comes while the credits are rolling, and it's the Humours of Trim, which is already posted in the archives here under the title, The Rolling Waves.

Seasaidh, either I misunderstand you, or I'm pointing out the obvious--a tune bein in O'Neill's means only that it is *at least* that old. Many of the tunes in O'Neill's are of course much older. O'Sullivan's March could easily be from the time of Napoleon I and the naval war with the British (which formally began in 1805).

As for Rob Roy, they also famously used uillean pipes for that movie, which must curdle Scottish blood....

# Posted on December 7th 2003 by Will Harmon

O'Sullivan's March

Hello people -- this is my first post here, but I've followed the threads a while so here 'goes. This one dovetails nicely with Garryowen -- a tune some folks loathe to play because it has no real definable ending and is rather commonplace. But it has a nice lilt to it if played as a march, and I think it fits very well if snugly tucked in after O'Sullivan's.
-C.

# Posted on December 26th 2003 by gravelwalks

How old

At least the late 1600s, published by Playfprd as Lilliburlero

# Posted on December 29th 2004 by Matt Seattle

On third thoughts, this appears not to be Lilliburlero, the tune Playford published in 1690, but a version of the tune known in Scotland as A Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow.
And Playford only has one p of course.

# Posted on February 22nd 2005 by Matt Seattle

O'Sullivan's March

Will, the way the Chieftains play it, and the way you have notated it here actually includes a second march. Iv'e been trying to find out its name for a long time. According to a thread on C & F, the second march is "An Sean Duine."

:-) -Dirk

# Posted on August 13th 2005 by dirk

VERY OLD TUNE

Im a year late on this one but this tune is one of the oldest among any on "the session"... it definitely goes back to 1669 under the name Montrose's March. The great ethnomusicologist Samuel P Bayard collected three versions from three different old time fiddlers in Pennsylvania in the 1930's. Also very common among fifers in that region it went by many names but never OSullivan's March or Wee Pickle Tow, so it's currnecy in North America probably predated those titles. Also the setting is different than the one posted here. Obviously the same tune though. SOme of it was familiar to me bfore I found Bayard's, but I relied on his collected versions to fill in my blanks. I was very surprised to hear it on a Chieftans CD that my wife bought me for Christmas... I had no idea it was Irish... I always considered it an old-time American tune.

# Posted on June 1st 2006 by The Merry Highlander

Captain Collins

Was the name by the way for my previous note

# Posted on August 24th 2007 by The Merry Highlander

This tune is used in the movie 'Master and Commander', sort of stuck on the front of a set. I like it alot, but I am not sure if it would be a good tool for learning this song. Does any one have on oppinion of that recording?

# Posted on October 25th 2007 by Eleiel

Has anyone come across this tune under the title Cowboy Jig or Charley The Prayermaster ?

# Posted on March 13th 2008 by Taglione

The Cowboy Jig has a different first part. Have a look: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/794

# Posted on March 13th 2008 by slainte

Sweeping the Cobwebs out of the Sky

This strange title comes from Liam O'Flynn's "Fine art of Piping." His second part is fairly different but I haven't got around to learning it yet. Does anyone know anything about this title?

# Posted on July 21st 2008 by 52Paddy

The second tune of this submission is known as An Seanduine; http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/5647

# Posted on April 26th 2010 by birlibirdie

Martin Hayes Setting

Here's the Martin Hayes setting of this tune from the video : From Clare to here part 2 .. from what I saw in the video, he played only 2 parts of the tune....

X: 1
T:O'Sullivan's March
M:6/8
L:1/8
C:Traditional
S:From a Martin Hayes video
R:March
K:D

|: "D" E>FE EFA| BAF E2 A,|"G/D" D>FE FFE | "D"F2 D D2 A,|!
"D" D>FE EFA| BAF E2 A,|"G/D"D>FE FFE | "D"F2 D D2 A, :|
|: "G/D" B2 G B2 d | B>dB B>AF |"D" A3 A3 | A>dA AFD |!
"G/D" G2 A B2 G |"D" (B/c/)dD {F}E2 A, |"G/D" D>FE FFE|[1 "DM7" F>DD
"Em/D" D2 d |[2"DM7" F>D"Em/D"D D2 A, || !

# Posted on November 21st 2010 by jardineromi

Rock and the Wee Pickle Toe

Played here by Clare McLaughlin, Martin Hunter, Malcolm Stitt and Mairead McManus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF6ueP2BurM

# Posted on November 21st 2010 by bogman

Mick O´Brien version

X: 1
T: O'Sullivan's March
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
D |: GBA ABd | edB A2 D | GBA ~B2 G |AGG GE D |
GBA ABd | edB A2 D | GBA ~B2 G :|1 AGG G2 D |2 AGG GB d ||
|| e2 g e2 g | ege edB | ded dBd | dgB BAG |
cBc dcd | (3efg B A2 D | GBA ~B2 G | AGG G2 g ||
| ~e3 ~e2d | ege edB | ded dBd | dgB BAG |
cBc dcd | (3efg B A2 D | GBA ~B2 G | AGG G2 D ||

# Posted on February 5th 2011 by Manu Novo

Key change

when I listen to the chieftains recording of o'sullivans it sounds like the key changes when the whistle comes in for that middle part, am I right about that?

# Posted on June 20th 2011 by Mandoneer

Rescued duplication, notes first - "Sweeping the Cobwebs Out of the Sky"

~ one I'd curiously submitted in a semi-conscious state, the following edited to protect the foolish and semi-conscious :-/ - - -

Playing through and with someone's recent submitted compositions, "Jakob's Frolics", a first submission by sineadhayes -

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/11904/comments

I was reminded of this one, and during initial searches didn't seem to find it here - I was wrong - thanks to the help and greater consciousness of Mix, the Prof & Doc Dow. It WAS already here...

However, it's one of those cans of worms I love to drop and watch them all squirm away. Why? Well, there are a LOT of versions of this by title and melody, similar and very different. It's another of those catchy ditties that went round the globe, played in all kinds of places, and I have versions from some of those places, and, silly me, I also know it as "O'Sullivan's March", duh!

There are also many varied melodies by this title used for Morris dancing, where the many different takes on it vary melody wise, parts and repeats...

Like other such travelling melodies, it has also picked up various lyrics too, but, again, I'll leave that for someone else...

# Posted on April 24th 2012 by ceolachan