McGovern's Favourite

reel

Key signature: Adorian

Submitted on January 23rd 2004 by Will CPT.

This tune has been added to 57 tunebooks.

Also known as A Trip In The Meadows, The Conneberry , The Cottage In The Grove, The Crooked , Maurice Casey's Fancy, Mc Govern's Favourite, McGovern's, McGovern's Favorite, McGovern's Favourite, Mike Flynn's, Rogha Mhic Shamhrain, The Village In The Grove.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Rake Of Reels by John Nolan
An Gaoth Aduaidh - The North Wind by Various Artists
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 2 by Matt Cunningham
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 4 by Matt Cunningham
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 6 by Matt Cunningham
From Ballymote To Brooklyn by Paddy Killoran and James Morrison
Gallain2 by Barry Mcgandy
Heart And Home by Lucy Farr
Hell For Leather by Swallow's Tail Céilí Band
Here Among Strangers by S�ucra
In Tandem by Kevin Burke And Ged Foley
Ireland's Harvest : A Tribute To The Golden Years Of Music In Irish America by Joe Derrane, Frankie Gavin And Brian McGrath
Irish Accordion by Joe Derrane
Kieran O'Hare by Kieran O'Hare
Land's End by Michael Rooney And June McCormack
Last Night's Fun by John Carty
Lead The Knave by Arty McGlynn And Nollaig Casey
Like Magic by Todd Denman And Bill Dennehy
Lonesome Blues And Dancing Shoes by Boys Of The Lough
Pathway To The Well by Matt Molloy And John Carty With Arty McGlynn
Pigtown Fling by Randal Bays And Joel Bernstein
Potsticks by Sean Moloney
Re-joyce by Maire O'Keeffe, John Faulkner, Jackie Daly, Donal O'Connor
Real Reels Of Ireland by Various Artists
Rolling Harbour by Elandir
Sets In The City by Tipsy House
Snug In The Blanket by Paddy O'Brien
The Cat That Ate The Candle by John Carty And Brian McGrath
The Chase by Wolfstone
The Gift by Jerry O'Sullivan
The Home Ruler by Catherine McEvoy
The Missing Reel by Seamus McGuire And John Lee
The Mist Covered Mountain by De Danann
The Night Of The Fair: Traditional Irish Music From Sliabh Luachra by Dan Herlihy And Friends
The Old Fireside Music by Mike And Mary Rafferty
Traditional Irish Music From Boston by The Magic Square
Traditional Irish Music From County Clare by Eamon Cotter
Traditional Irish Music In America: The East Coast by Various Artists
When The World Was Wide by Trouble In The Kitchen
Whistle Stop by Brian Hughes
Wooden Flute Obsession: Volume 2, Disc 1 by Various Artists

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: McGovern's Favourite
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
EG |: A2 AB AGED | GABd edBd | eaag egdB | AcBA GEDG |
EAAB AGED | GABd edBd | eaag egdB |1 AcBG A2 cB :|2 AcBG A2 (3efg ||
|: a2 ab agef | gedB GABd | eaaf gedB | AcBA GED2 |
[1 eaab agef | gedB GABd | eaag egdB | AcBG A2 (3efg :|
[2 EAAB AGED | GABd edBd | eaag egdB | AcBG A2 cB ||
"Variation"
|: ~A3 B AGED | GA (3Bcd edBd | eaag (3ege dB | AcBA GEDG |
EAAB AGED | GA (3Bcd ed (3Bcd | eaag (3ege dB |1 AcBG A2 cB :|2 AcBG A2 (3efg ||
~a3 b agef | gedB GA (3Bcd | eaaf gedB | AcBA GED2 |
eaab agef | ~g3 e dG (3Bcd | eaag (3ege dB | AcBG A2 (3efg |
~a3 b agef | gedB GA (3Bcd | eaaf gedB | (3ABc BA GEDG |
EAAB AGED | GA (3Bcd edBd | eaag (3ege dB | AcBG A2 cB ||

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

McGovern's Favorite

Over the years here, we've debated the wisdom of posting plain settings of tunes versus settings that show typical ornamentation. So this post is partly in response--trying to satisfy both sides. It's also my personal reaction to learning tunes on both fiddle (which I've played for way too long to still be this shoddy) and flute (which always sounds good to me despite --or is that because of--how new I am to the instrument). The plain version is easier to make sense of on fiddle. The ornamented version is based on the flute playing of Michael Clarkson.

# Posted on January 23rd 2004 by Will CPT

Ornaments

So Jeremy, did you disengage the midi function that used to always stumble through the roll? It's much better this way--while the reader can see the tilde and play a roll, the midi stays on beat. I hope this is a permanent change to the site?

# Posted on January 23rd 2004 by Will CPT

Thank you

What a great help for learning a tune! In a perfect world we could be catching them all by ear from a traditional source, but this does a lot to bridge the gap resulting from trying to learn off "the dots." Nicely done, and much appreciated!

# Posted on January 24th 2004 by maderinerue

This title was attached to the tune by Paddy Killoran, who recorded it in New York a long time ago. It was played as a hornpipe called "Fitzpatrick's" in Sliabh Luachra and recorded in that style by Paddy Cronin.

# Posted on March 27th 2004 by blarneystar

Another Setting

From Josephine Keegan's Collection, A Drop In The Ocean. She calls the tune "The Cottage In The Grove".

X:1
T:The Cottage In The Grove
M:4/4
R:Reel
K:ADor
|:A2BG AGEF|GABd (3efg dg|eaaf gedB|(3ABc BG AGEG|
A2BG AGEF|GABd (3efg dg|eaaf gedB|(3ABc BG A4:||
|:a2ba gefa|gedB AGEG|g2af gedB|(3ABc BG A2Ag|
a2ba gefa|gedB AGEF|GABd (3efg dg|eaaf gedB:||

# Posted on July 24th 2005 by Aidan Crossey

A Trip in the Meadows (aka. McGovern's Favourite)

Here's my flute version of the tune inspired by the playing of East Galway musician Sean Moloney.

K: Ador
B|~A3G GEDE|G2Bd edBd|eaaf gedB|AcBG AGEG|
~A3G GEDE|G2Bd edBd|egfa gedB|AcBG A3:|
z|a2ab agef|gedB G2Bd|eaaf gedB|AcBG AGE2|
~a3b agef|gedB G2Bd|egfa gedB|AcBG A3z|
a2ab agef|gedB G2Bd|eaaf gedB|AcBG AGEG|
~A3G GEDE|G2Bd edBd|egfa gedB|AcBG A3||

Well, on the recording Sean Moloney misses out or repeats some bits of the tune too much, so this is a reconstructed version which fits on the flute. Sean is one of the most beautiful flute players I've ever come across in person, but he plays this tune on the fiddle. I'm not familiar with the East Galway fiddle style, but his haunting fiddle playing has some echoes of great Clare fiddlers such as Bobby Casey.

As for the tune itself, he cites Lucy Farr as the source of the tune. On a different page of the notes, he writes Lucy Farr and his grandfather Stephen Moloney were neighbours in Ballinakill, a place which has produced many well-known musicians such as Joe Burke, Mike Rafferty, etc. I just passed through the area a few times, but will hopefully explore the scene there someday.

# Posted on April 27th 2006 by slainte

Mike Flynn's (aka. McGovern's Favourite)

A variant of this tune can be found on Mike and Mary Rafferty's album 'Old Fireside Music' (1998). Frank Claudy told me he learned it from Billy McComisky, who learned it from Sean McGlynn, who got it from Kevin Keegan, who got it from Mike Flynn, originally from Co. Sligo, later of New York. Mike Rafferty learned it straight from Flynn. I undestand that Mike Flynn participated in the Paddy Killoran recording of "McGovern's Favourite", so he would have given it that name.

I was first aware of the tune as "Cottage In the Grove" from an Arty McGlynn and Nollaig Casey recording. It's also in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland as "Maurice Casey's Fancy", and in Ceol Rince na h'Eireann other names mentioned include "The Village in the Grove" and "The Conberry Reel".

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by nigelg

Mike Flynn's (aka. McGovern's Favourite)

The Mike Rafferty recording is in C dorian, but it has been suggested that he was playing it on an F flute; on a D flute it would come out in A dorian.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by nigelg

So, Mike Rafferty didn't learn it from his neighbours in Ballinakill, East Galway. My transcription above can be traced back to Lucy Farr, who was also from Ballinakill.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by slainte

Mike Flynn's (aka. McGovern's Favourite)

Hello Hiro - how are you?

It's perfectly possible that Mike Rafferty knew the tune from his home town, but on his CD, he says "I Learned [this reel] from Mike Flynn, a great flute player from Co. Sligo now living in New York."

I transcribed "Mike Flynn's" in 2000. Shortly afterward an acquaintance from Cyberspace mentioned it to Mike Rafferty, who played it. My friend said "...he seemed really happy to be reminded of the tune and was all smiles when he finished playing it." He also wanted to know what instrument I was playing it on (it was mandolin).

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by nigelg

Fine thanks, Nigel. But I've learned too many Irish tunes.

I tend to confuse this tune with "The Knotted Cord": http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/921

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by slainte

Trouble In The Kitchen did a great version of this on their 2nd album 'When The World Was Wide'. You should learn that one, Slainte.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by Dow

We got the version we play from Randal Bays. He plays the 8th bar of the B-part up an octave. I asked him how he came across this version and he said that himself and Joel decided to do it because the B-part seemed too repetative and it added a little variation and punch.

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by Phantom Button

Jerry O'Sullivan's Version

# Posted on July 9th 2007 by JACKB

McGovern's

Kevin Burke and Ged Foley just call it McGovern's and they play it in E- dorian. Interesting, but not suitable für whistlers and flute players.

# Posted on July 16th 2007 by craics90

Yet Another . . .

At the "local" session in New Haven CT it is played AAB.
Like so . . .

X: 1
T: McGovern's Favourite
C: Trad
M: C|
K: Ador
A3B GEDE|G2Bd edBd|ea~a2 gedB|AcBG AGEG|
A2AB GEDE|G2Bd edBd|ea~a2 gedB|1 AcBG A4:|2 (3ABc BG A4||
a3b agef|gedB G2Bd|(3efg fa gedB|AcBG AGEG|
a3b agef|gedB G2Bd|(3efg fa gede|gbaf gedB||

It seems a little abrupt to me, but I'm not the leader so . . .

# Posted on April 7th 2008 by JohnQ

McGovern's Favourite

I recently found similarities between this reel and "Tuamgraney Castle": http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1927

# Posted on July 8th 2008 by slainte