The Boys Of Portaferry

reel

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on February 13th 2003 by Will CPT.

This tune has been added to 70 tunebooks.

Also known as Boys Of Portaferry, The Pullet.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

• Are Here Again by Trad Lads
• Are You The Concertina Player? by Kate McNamara
• Bad Turns And Horse-Shoe Bends by Harry Bradley
• Baker's Well by Baker's Well
• Bakerswell by Bakerswell
• Ceilizemer: Shalom Ireland by The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band And Driving With Fergus
• Down From Bell Harbour by Chris Droney
• Drops Of Spring Water by Comhaltas Concert Tour 2004
• For Love And Laughter by Solas
• Fourmilehouse by Alan And John Kelly
• Fourmilehouse by Alan And John Kelly
• Happy To Meet by P.J. Crotty, Carol Cullinan, James Cullinan
• In The Footsteps Of Coleman by Various Artists
• Jigs To The Moon by Dordan
• Lamh Ar Lamh (Many Hands) CD 1 by Various Artists
• New Day Dawning by Cherish The Ladies
• One And All: The Best Of Cherish The Ladies by Cherish The Ladies
• Piper's Dream by Jack Brennan
• Pleasures Of Home by Winifred Horan
• Roguery Road by Jason O'Rouke And Ruadhrai O'Kane
• The Branch Line by Jack And Charlie Coen
• The Celtic Album by Boston Pops
• The Family Album by The McCarthys
• The Kinnitty Sessions by Lunasa
• The Leg Of The Duck by Joe Burke, Michael Cooney And Noreen Donoghue
• The Luck Penny by Seamus Bugler
• The Mouse Behind The Dresser by Shaskeen
• The Music Of Kevin Keegan by Kevin Keegan
• The New Strung Harp by Maire Ni Chathasaigh
• The Tap Room Trio by Tap Room Trio
• The Woman I Loved So Well by Planxty
• Toss The Fiddles by Various Artists
• Uilleann Pipes And Whistles - Traditional Music From Co. Monaghan by Martin McCormack

X: 1
T: Boys Of Portaferry, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
BA|:G2 BG AcBA|GABG GEDE|GABG ABce|dBgB c2 BA|
|G2 BG AcBA|(3GGG BG GEDE|GABG ABce|1 dBAc BGGD:|2 dBAc BGGA||
|(3Bcd gd edgd|Bdgd e2 dc|(3Bcd gd edef|gedB c2 BA|
|(3Bcd gd edgd|Bdgd e2 dc|Bdgd (3efg fa|gedB c2 BA:||

The Boys of Portaferry

I first learned this tune off a Cherish the Ladies compilation cd, "One and All: The Best of Cherish the Ladies." I've since heard it knocked around by a few other players, but not often. And somehow it's even dropped out of favor at our local session. I'm hoping to bring it back.

I like the way it keeps trying to resolve to the notes that normally leave you suspended in G major--c's in the A part and e's and c's in the B part. The 4th measure of the A part is just pregnant. Of course it never completely works out, so you get carried along waiting for the final resolve. For me, that comes by going from Boys of Portaferry straight into Kerryman's Daughter in C maj:

|gedB c2 cA| into Kerryman's |G~E3 GAcd|egdB cAAc| and so on.

It's a bit of a finger twister on fiddle, especially uptempo, but it's great practice for clamping onto a G doublestop and working on clean string crossings. And it works fine (as does Kerryman's Daughter) at a moderate tempo.

You can simplify the B part by omitting all those triplets and playing |Bdgd edgd|, but it loses some of its momentum this way.

Anyobody have a different setting for Boys of Portaferry? The only other printed version I've seen is in the Krassen edition of O'Neill's, and it's almost identical.

# Posted on February 13th 2003 by Will CPT

As soon as I saw this I knew it would have been you who posted it. Will, this was one of the tunes listed in your "common session tunes" thread from ages ago, and I was surprised to see that it hadn't been posted here. I have played this for a long while and keep trying to play it in sessions but no-one *ever* knows it or bothers trying to learn it. Perhaps if I played something loud and noticeable (like a fiddle maybe Will?) people would listen

I play this in a set that goes Bunker Hill/Boys Of Portaferry/Jenny Picking Cockles (Dmix version). I think they merge nicely into each other. For me, Bunker Hill wants to go into G...

# Posted on February 13th 2003 by Dow

don`´t Know the Boys.... but have learned this tune under tthe Name
The Pullet (Planxty: the woman i loved so well)
Great tune!

Kurt

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by Kurt Franke

I was interested to find this tune - I haven't heard of it before - since I was born in one of the villages around Portaferry and lived there for seven years. I return to the town every year (as I now live in Derbyshire).

# Posted on February 2nd 2004 by tbag

The "Pullet": track 3 on "Tap Room Trio"

I posted the following question in the recordings section as well to increase its chances of being seen: Does anyone have a different name for the tune rendered by the Tap Room Trio and listed on the sleeve as "the Pullet"?

# Posted on October 13th 2004 by Pawl

The Boys of Portaferry

Another way of playing it:

X:164
T:Boys of Portaferry, The
T:The Pullet
S:Session, Green Tree, Edinburgh
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
BA | G3 B AGAB | G2 BG AGED | G3 B AB c2 | dBGB c2 :|
BA | Bdgd Bdgd | Bdgd (3cdc BA | Bdgd e2 ef | gedB c2 :|]

# Posted on April 3rd 2007 by nigelg