Thursday 16 December 2021
Tune of the Day: The Miller of Glenmire
Traditional Irish jig
This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's celebrated collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. O'Neill had the tune from a 17-year-old fiddler named George West, who, although gifted musically, was somewhat indigent and did not own a fiddle. He had formed a symbiotic musical relationship of sorts with one O'Malley, who did own a fiddle and who eked out a meager living playing house parties despite the loss of a finger from his left hand. O'Malley, however, invariably could only make it to midnight before he got too drunk to bow, at which time West took over his fiddle and finished the night's engagement.