Annotation:Sailing into Walpole's Marsh

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X:1 T:Sailing into Walpole's Marsh M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Reel Z:Andrew Pickering N:Posted to the woodenflute mailing list January 2002 K:Ador A2 AG AcBA|G2 GE GEDG|A2 AG ABcd|eged cAdc| AG G2 AG G2|GEDE GDEG|A2 AG ABcd|1 eged cA dc:|2 eged cA A2| |eg g2 eaaf|gedB cA A2|eg g2 eaag|age^c d2 ef| g2 ge a2 af|gedB cA A2|c2 gc acgc|eage d4:|]



SAILING INTO WALPOLE'S MARSH. AKA and see "Finnerty's." Irish, Reel (4/4 time). A Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA’BB. The title apparently refers to poaching for wild ducks on a landowner's marsh in the West of Ireland, or to poachers who fished by night in Lord Walpole's waters [1]. Paul de Grae [2] notes that fiddler Paddy O'Sullivan (West Commons, Ardfert, Co. Kerry) claimed he and friends named the reel after a local landmark while playing on a boat, enjoying the acoustics. The marsh is along Barrow Harbour a few miles northwest of Tralee. O’Sullivan said the tune came from Dingle (Daingean U ́ı Chuis). Abetya et al [3] note that the reel was picked up from O'Sullivan by Nicky McAuliffe (Brosna Ceili Band) and Brian Keane who played it in the 1972 All-Ireland, which they won. From there it was picked up by others.

"Jerry McMahon's" is a reel that has a cognate first strain, and there are similarities in the beginning of "Walpole's Marsh" to “Castle Kelly.”

Additional notes

Source for notated version: -

Printed sources : - Abeyta, MacUileagóid, Guerin, de Grae, Dalton (Drawing from the Well: A Selection of Music from the North Kerry Tradition), 2010; p. 23. Songer and Curley (Portland Collection, vol. 2), 2005; p. 175.

Recorded sources: - Compass 7 4345 2, Eamonn Coyne - "Through the Round Window" (2002). Green Linnet ‎SIF 1004, Eddie Clarke, Seán Corcoran, Maeve Donnelly, Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill – "Sailing into Walpole's Marsh" (1977). HM301, Tony Sullivan - “Sully’s Fancy.” Mulligan Records, "Andy Irvine & Paul Brady" (1976). Phaeton PHAE999, James Kelly - “The Ring Sessions” (1995). Conor Keane - “Oidhreacht” (1997).

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]



Back to Sailing into Walpole's Marsh


  1. notes on Green Linnet ‎SIF 1004, Eddie Clarke, Seán Corcoran, Maeve Donnelly, Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill – "Sailing into Walpole's Marsh" (1977)
  2. IRTRAD-L, June 9, 1998
  3. Abeyta, MacUileagóid, Guerin, de Grae, Dalton, Drawing from the Well: A Selection of Music from the North Kerry Tradition, 2010. p. 22.