Saturday 18 May 2024
Tune of the Day: Paddy O'Carroll
Traditional Irish jig
The earliest known appearance of this tune is found in Richard Fitzmaurice's Fitzmaurice's New Collection of Irish Tunes, published in Edinburgh in 1807. Fitzmaurice's title was “Rossy Castle”, a reference to Ross Castle in Killarney (Co. Kerry) which suggests that the tune probably has Irish origins.
The name “Paddy O'Carroll”, which must have been acquired as a title soon afterwards, apparently has theatrical associations: a 1784 Dublin production bears the title The New Register Office; or, Paddy O'Carrol in High Life.
During the American Civil War, a song emerged among pro-Union Irishmen called “The Opinions of Paddy McGee” which used this tune as its melody.