The Pigeon on the Gate
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traditional
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Pigeon on the Gate", in Gaelic "An Colúr ar an nGeata", also known as "Atholl Braes",<br> "Bank of Ireland", "The Drinking Reel", "The Drunken Tailor", "Gallagher's Best",<br> "Hills of Clogher", "Lagan Slashers", "Pigeon on the Pier", "Reidy's Reel", "Roddy Joe’s Reel”,<br> "The Scotch Braes" or "The Wandering Tinker" is an Irish reel in E Dorian. The parts are played<br> AB (Goodman, Miller & Perron, Roche), AABB (Cranitch, Mallinson, Mulvihill, O'Neill/Krassen,<br> Taylor , Tubridy), AA'BB (Breathnach), AABB' (Flaherty, Phillips) or AA'BB' (Brody, Taylor,<br> Vallely).<br> The melody is at least as old as the mid-19th century, when it was entered into the large music<br> manuscript collection of County Cork uilleann piper Canon James Goodman. The reel was also<br> mentioned by Francis O’Neill (Irish Minstrels and Musicians, 1913) in his brief sketch of<br> uilleann piper and fiddler William F. Hanafin (a Callinafercy, Kilcoleman, County Kerry, musician<br> born in 1875 who emigrated to Massachusetts in his adolescence), as one of the first reels he<br> learned as a boy. The "Pigeon on the Gate" title for this tune dates only to the beginning of<br> the 20th century, however. Francis O’Neill (1922) remarks: “Altho' this splendid reel does not<br> appear in the Bunting, Petrie or Joyce Collections, it was pretty generally known to the pipers<br> and fiddlers of Chicago, hailing from the west and south of Ireland and always by the same name<br> (i.e. "Pigeon on the Gate"). It is a popular session tune in its many variations and variants,<br> although two main strains, in E modal and A modal, predominate. "Pigeon on the Gate" is a popular<br> reel in many versions in Donegal, although usually known as “The Swallowtail”.<br> It was printed in Breathnach's CRÉ 2 (1976), Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983),<br> Bulmer & Sharpley's Music from Ireland, vol. 3 (1976), Cranitch's The Irish Fiddle Book (1996),<br> Flaherty's Trip to Sligo (1990), Jordan's Whistle and Sing! (1975), Mallinson's 100 Essential<br> (1995), Miller & Perron's Irish Traditional Fiddle Music (1977/2006), Mulvihill's 1st Collection<br> (1986), Krassen's O'Neill (1976), O’Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922),<br> Phillips' Fiddle Case Tunebook: British Isles (1989), Roche's Collection of Traditional Irish<br> Music, vol. 1 (1912), Taylor's Through the Half-Door (1992) and Tubridy's Irish Traditional Music,<br> vol. 2 (1999).<br> It was recorded by The Riendeau Family on Old-Time Fiddling, Jean Carignan on Old Time Fiddle<br> Tunes (1968), Brendan Mulvihill on The Flax in Bloom, Liz Carroll on Liz Carroll (1988),<br> Liz Carroll on The Celts Rise Again (1990), The Chieftains on Bonaparte's Retreat (1976),<br> Kevin Burke on Promenade, Proinsaias O Maonaigh, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh,<br> Paula Doohan, Liz Doherty on Fiddle Sticks: Irish Traditional Music from Donegal (1991),<br> Sean McGuire on Irish Jigs and Reels. <br>
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