![Tp1web](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Tp1web.jpg)
The Donegal fiddle tradition is the way of playing the
fiddle that is traditional in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
, Ireland. It is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
.
The distinctness of the Donegal tradition developed due to the close relations between Donegal and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, and the Donegal repertoire and style has influences from
Scottish fiddle music. For example, in addition to the ”universally known” standard Irish dance tunes, there is an added volume of Scottish and
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
tunes played, with even some tunes from
Shetland and
Orkney. This includes standard tune types such as double jigs (6/8), slip jigs (9/8), reels (4/4), and hornpipes (swung 4/4). It has been claimed that Donegal musicians play more slip jigs than any other region of Ireland. This is potentially due to the geographical borders/mountains (as well as national borders with Northern Ireland) keeping Donegal’s repertoire more locally-known for decades. There is also a prevalence of
mazurka playing. Mazurkas are historically mainland-European tunes very similar to a
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
, in its 3/4 meter, though generally livelier and with more emphasis being placed on the second beat of each measure. Another uniquely Donegal tune is called the barndance, stemming from the Germanic
schottische (essentially meaning ‘Scottish’), also similar to the Norwegian
reinlander. The barndance is very similar to a hornpipe, but slower than a reel; typically they are played with less of a hornpipe’s “swing” and more of the “drive” of a reel.
In stark contrast to other Irish musical styles, the Donegal tradition also has the Scottish
strathspey, a traditional dance from Scotland, played a bit like a hornpipe but with emphasis on the semi-quaver; this dotted rhythm gives the strathspey it’s distinct “Scotch Snap” sound. While strathspeys are definitely known in Donegal (albeit played slightly slower and with less ”snap” than Scottish fiddlers), more common is the
highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
. Very rarely referred to as a “highland fling”, these quintessentially Donegal tunes are influenced by the Scottish strathspey, but played a bit smoother, as a sort of “strathspey-reel”. Some Scotch Snaps will be played, but highlands tend to be more akin to a slower reel, overall. Reels, themselves, are said to have originated in Scottish music. The distinctiveness of the Donegal tradition led to some conflict, between Donegal players and representatives of the mainstream tradition, when Irish traditional music was organised in the 1960s.
The tradition has several distinguishing traits compared to other fiddle traditions such as the
Sliabh Luachra
Sliabh Luachra (), sometimes anglicised Slieve Logher, is an upland region in Munster, Ireland. It is on the borders of counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, and bounded to the south by the River Blackwater. It includes the Mullaghareirk Mounta ...
style of southern Ireland, most of which involves styles of
bowing
Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many European c ...
and the
ornamentation
An ornament is something used for decoration.
Ornament may also refer to:
Decoration
*Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts
*Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...
of the music, and rhythm. Due to the frequency of double stops and the strong bowing it is often compared to the
Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18. ...
tradition. Another characteristic of the style is the rapid pace at which it tends to proceed.
Modern players, such as the fiddle group
Altan, continue to be popular due to a variety of reasons.
Among the most famous Donegal style players are
John Doherty from the early twentieth century and
James Byrne,
Paddy Glackin
Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players.
Biography
Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...
,
Tommy Peoples
Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition.
Biography
Peoples was born near St. Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, ...
and
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponen ...
in recent decades.
History
The fiddle has ancient roots in Ireland, the first report of bowed instruments similar to the violin being in the
Book of Leinster
The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...
(ca. 1160). The modern violin was ubiquitous in Ireland by the early 1700s. However the first mention of the fiddle being in use in Donegal is from the blind harper
Arthur O'Neill
Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill (19 September 1876 – 6 November 1914), was an Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician who was the first Member of Parliament to be killed in World War I.
Early life
O'Neill was the second but eldest surviving son of ...
who in his 1760 memoirs described a wedding in
Ardara as having "plenty of pipers and fiddlers".
[Between the Jigs and the Reels: The Donegal Fiddle Tradition C Mac Aoidh – 1994 – Drumlin Publications][Donegal and Shetland Fiddle Music D McLaughlin, Irish Traditional Music Society – 1992 – Irish Traditional Music Society, University College, Cork. Chapter 2 "A history of Donegal Fiddle Music" pp. 22–35] Donegal fiddlers participated in the development of the Irish music tradition in the 18th century during which jigs and slipjigs and later reels and hornpipes became the dominant musical forms. However, Donegal musicians, many of them being fishermen, also frequently travelled to Scotland, where they acquired tune types from the
Scottish repertoire such as the
Strathspey which was integrated into the Donegal tradition as "Highland" tunes. The Donegal tradition derives much of its unique character from the synthesis of Irish and Scottish stylistic features and repertoires.
Aoidh notes however that while different types of art music were commonly played among the upper classes of Scottish society in the 18th century, the Donegal tradition drew exclusively from the popular types of Scottish music.
[Changing cultural landscapes: the co-existence of musical genres in Irish culture and education. M McCarthy – Irish Studies Review, 2004 – Taylor & Francis] Like some Scottish fiddlers (who, like Donegal fiddlers, tend to use a short bow and play in a straight-ahead fashion), some Donegal fiddlers worked at imitating the sound of the
bagpipes. Workers from Donegal would bring their music to Scotland and also bring back Scottish tunes with them such music of J. Scott Skinner and Mackenzie Murdoch.
Lilting
Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Goidelic speaking areas of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as ''diddling'' (generally in England and Scotland), ''mouth music' ...
, unaccompanied singing of wordless tunes, was also an important part of the Donegal musical tradition often performed by women in social settings. Describing the musical life of Arranmore Island in the late 19th century singer Róise Rua Nic Gríanna describes the most popular dances: "The Sets, the Lancers, the Maggie Pickie
.e., Maggie Pickinsthe Donkey, the
Mazurka and the
Barn dances". Among the travelling fiddlers of the late 19th century players such as John Mhosaí McGinley, Anthony Hilferty, the McConnells and the Dohertys are best known. As skill levels increased through apprenticeships several fiddle masters appeared such as the Cassidy's, Connie Haughey, Jimmy Lyons and Miock McShane of Teelin and Francie Dearg and Mickey Bán Byrne of Kilcar. These virtuosos played unaccompanied listening pieces in addition to the more common dance music.
The influences between Scotland and Donegal went both ways and were furthered by a wave of immigration from Donegal to Scotland in the 19th century (the regions share common names of dances), as can be heard in the volume of strathspeys,
schottisches,
marches
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
, and Donegal's own strong piping tradition, has influenced and been influenced by music, and by the sounds, ornaments, and repertoire of the
Píob Mhór, the traditional bagpipes of Ireland and Scotland.
There are other differences between the Donegal style and the rest of Ireland. Instruments such as the tin whistle, flute, concertina and accordion were very rare in Donegal until modern times.
Traditionally the píob mór and the fiddle were the only instruments used and the use of pipe or fiddle music was common in old wedding customs. Migrant workers carried their music to Scotland and also brought back a number of tunes of Scottish origin.
The Donegal fiddlers may well have been the route by which Scottish tunes such as Lucy Campbell, Tarbolton Lodge (Tarbolton) and The Flagon (The Flogging Reel), that entered the Irish repertoire.
These players prided themselves on their technical abilities, which included playing in higher positions (fairly uncommon among traditional Irish fiddlers), and sought out material which would demonstrate their skills.
As Irish music was consolidated and organised under the
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...
movement in the 1960s, both strengthened the interest in traditional music but sometimes conflicted with the Donegal tradition and its social conventions. The rigidly organised sessions of the Comhaltas reflected the traditions of Southern Ireland and Donegal fiddlers like John Doherty considered the National repertoire with its strong focus on reels to be less diverse than that of Donegal with its varied rhythms. Other old fiddlers dislike the ways comhaltas sessions were organised with a committee player, often not himself a musician, in charge. Sometimes Comhaltas representatives would even disparage the Donegal tradition, with its Scottish flavour, as being un-Irish, and prohibit them from playing local tunes with Scottish genealogies such as the "Highlands" at Comhaltas sessions. This sometimes cause antagonism between Donegal players and the main organisation of traditional music in Ireland.
Outside of the Comhaltas movement however, Donegal fiddling stood strong with
Paddy Glackin
Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players.
Biography
Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...
of Ceoltorí Laighean and the
Bothy Band and later
Tommy Peoples
Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition.
Biography
Peoples was born near St. Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, ...
also with the Bothy Band and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh with
Altan, who all drew attention and prestige to the Donegal tradition within folk music circles throughout Ireland.
Description of style
![Donegalfiddle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Donegalfiddle.PNG)
The Donegal style of fiddling is a label often applied to music from this area, though one also might plausibly identify several different, but related, styles within the county.
To the extent to which there is one common style in the county, it is characterised by a rapid pace; a tendency to be more un-
swung in the playing of the fast dance tune types (
reel
A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...
and
jig
The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
s); short (non-
slurred), aggressive bowing, sparse ornamentation, the use of bowed
triplets
A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bi ...
more often than
trills as
ornaments
An ornament is something used for decoration.
Ornament may also refer to:
Decoration
*Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts
*Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...
, the use of
double stop
In music, a double stop is the technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument such as a violin, a viola, a cello, or a double bass. On instruments such as the Hardanger fiddle it is common and often employed. In performin ...
s and droning; and the occurrence of "playing the octave", with one player playing the melody and the other playing the melody an octave lower. None of these characteristics are universal, and there is some disagreement as to the extent to which there is a common style at all. In general, however, the style is rather aggressive.
Another feature of Donegal fiddling that makes it distinctive among Irish musical traditions is the variety of rare tune types that are played.
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
, a type of tune in
time with some similarities to Scottish
strathspeys, which are also played in Donegal, are one of the most commonly played types of tune in the county. Other tune types common solely in the county include barndances, also called "Germans," and
mazurkas.
Fiddlers of the Donegal tradition
Historical
![Donegalmap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Donegalmap.jpg)
There are a number of different strands to the history of fiddle playing in County Donegal.
Perhaps the best-known and, in the last half of the twentieth century, the most influential has been that of the Doherty family.
Hugh Doherty is the first known musician of this family. Born in 1790, he headed an unbroken tradition of fiddlers and pipers in the Doherty family until the death, in 1980, of perhaps the best-known Donegal fiddler,
John Doherty. John, a travelling tinsmith, was known for his extremely precise and fast finger- and bow-work and vast repertoire, and is considered to be one of the greatest Irish fiddlers ever recorded.
John's older brother, Mickey, was also recorded and, though Mickey was another of the great Irish fiddlers, his reputation has been overshadowed by John's.
There is no single Donegal style but several distinctive styles. These styles traditionally come from the geographical isolated regions of Donegal including
Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
, eastern Donegal,
The Rosses
The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, ...
and
Gweedore
Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly ...
,
Croaghs,
Teelin,
Kilcar
''Cill Charthaigh'' (anglicised as Kilcar) is a Gaeltacht village on the R263 regional road in the south west of County Donegal in Ireland. It is also a townland of 233 acres and a civil parish in the historic barony of Banagh.
The village ...
,
Glencolmcille
''Gleann Cholm Cille'', anglicised as Glencolumbkille or Glencolmcille, is a small district on the Atlantic coast of southwest County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Named after Saint Colm Cille (Columba), it is also a ...
,
Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland.
Location
B ...
and
Bundoran
Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...
. Even with improved communications and transport, these regions still have recognisably different ways of fiddle playing. Notable deceased players of the older Donegal styles include Neillidh ("Neilly") Boyle, Francie Byrne, Con Cassidy, Frank Cassidy,
James Byrne (1946–2008), P.V. O'Donnell (2011), and
Tommy Peoples
Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition.
Biography
Peoples was born near St. Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, ...
(1948–2018). Currently living Donegal fiddlers, include,
Vincent Campbell,
John Gallagher,
Paddy Glackin
Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players.
Biography
Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...
, and
Danny O'Donnell.
Modern
Fiddle playing continues to be popular in Donegal. The three fiddlers of the Donegal "supergroup"
Altan,
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponen ...
, Paul O'Shaughnessy, and Ciarán Tourish, are generally admired within Donegal. An example of another fiddler-player from Donegal is
Liz Doherty.
Another well regarded fiddle player hailing from Donegal is
Aidan O'Donnell. TG4 Young Musician of the Year 2010 Aidan O'Donnell has been described as one of the finest young Irish musicians at present. He began his music making at the age of 12, and since then has performed with some of traditional music's finest artists, including Donal Lunny, Micheal Ó'Suilleabháin and the Chieftains. In 2007, he won the prestigious ‘Oireachtas na Geailge' fiddle title, and has been a regular tutor at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, at the University of Limerick for the past number of years.
The fiddle, and traditional music in general, remained popular in Donegal not only because of the international coverage of certain artists
but because of local pride in the music. Traditional music ''
Seisiúns'' are still common place both in
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s and in houses. The Donegal fiddle music has been influenced by
recorded music
Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...
, but this is claimed to have had a positive impact on the tradition.
Modern Donegal fiddle music is often played in concerts and recorded on albums.
See also
*
Irish fiddle
*
Scottish fiddling
*
Irish music
Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.
The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...
*
Celtic music
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donegal Fiddle Tradition
Irish music
Celtic music
Irish styles of music