"The Battering Ram", in Gaelic "An Reithe Toghla" is also known as "Mary O'Hara" is an Irish double jig in 6/8 time and D Mixolydian. The parts are played ABC (Flaherty), AABBCC (most versions) or ABCD (Miller).
'Battering', in the context of Irish music and dance, signifyies the production of rhythm to the beat of the music. John Kerr explains:
"Battering", in relation to dancing of Irish country sets (e.g. Caledonian, Lancers, etc.), is the pounding out of rhythm with the feet that is done by the dancers as they execute the figures of the set. Traditionally, battering was typically done by the male dancers and often in the old house dancing days a flagstone was specially placed with no earth underneath it in front of the fireplace so as to better pick up the rhythms pounded out by the dancer at the top of the set.
It was printed in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983), Bulmer & Sharpley's Music from Ireland, vol. 1 (1974), Flaherty's Trip to Sligo (1990), Harker's 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty (2005), Mallinson's Essential (1995), Miller & Perron's Irish Traditional Fiddle Music (1977) and Irish Traditional Fiddle Music, 2nd Edition (2006), Mulvihill's 1st Collection (1986), O'Malley's Luke O'Malley's Collection of Irish Music (1976), Brian Prior's Foinn Seisiún 2 (2001), Russell's The Piper's Chair (1989), Sullivan's Session Tunes, vol. 2 and Tubridy's Irish Traditional Music, vol. 1 (1999).
It was recorded by How To Change a Flat Tire on A Point of Departure (1977), Chieftains on Chieftains #1 (1964) and Jimmy Power, Lucy Farr & Andy O'Boyle on Paddy in the Smoke: Irish Dance Music from a London Pub (1968).