The crowned king among the luminaries who made Sligo style fiddling the lofty standard among Irish-American traditional players, Michael Coleman was born near Ballymote in Sligo, January 31, 1891. He emigrated to America in 1915, first to Lowell, MA, but soon settling in New York City. He began recording Irish tunes in 1921 as part of a golden age of Irish traditional music records, his recording career lasted until the final plunge of Great Depression, not much happened after 1936.
This is my somewhat sketchy list of the tunes he recorded.
reels ~
Lord McDonald’s/
Ballinasloe Fair;
Boys of the Lough/
Devil’s of Dublin;
Shaskeen/
Bag of Spuds;
Farrell O’Gara/
Good Morning to Yor Nightcap;
Crooked Road to Dublin/
Sligo Maid;
Hand Me Down the Tackle/
Farewell to Leitrim;
Rakish Paddy/
Boys of Ballisodare;
Crowley’s #1/
Crowley’s #2;
Fisherman’s Lilt/
Bird in the Bush;
Doctor Gilbert/
Queen of May;
Greenfields of America/
Swallow’s Tail;
Morning Dew/
Woman of the House;
Duke of Leinster/
Ladies Pantalettes;
Blackthorn Stick/
Green Groves of Erin;
Tarbolton/
Longford Collector/
Sailor’s Bonnet;
Sailor on the Rock/
Paddy on the Turnpike (Bunch of Keys);
Pigeon on a Gate/
Miss Monaghan;
Bonnie Kate/
Jenny’s Chickens;
Paddy Ryan’s Dream/
Mama’s Pet;
Kerry Reel (Green Fields of Rossbeigh)/
Boyne Hunt;
Farewell to Ireland/
Farewell to Erin;
Liffey Banks/
Shaskeen;
Tom Ward’s Downfall/
Reel of Mullinavat;
Wind that Shakes the Barley/
Lady on the Island;
Jackson’s Reel/
(Dublin Reel, aka Jackson’s);
Lord Wellington’s/
(Copperplate);
Ladies of Leinster/
Contradiction;
O’Dowd’s Favourite/
Star of Munster;
Lord Gordon.
Lucy Campbell.
Trim the Velvet.
Molloy’s Favourite (Mother’s Delight)/
(played in a set after the Blackbird).
jigs ~
Jackson’s/
Tar Road to Sligo;
Kitty’s Rambles/
Frost is All Over;
Tobin’s Fancy (T—’s Favourite)/
Tar Road to Sligo;
(Basket of Turf)/
Up Sligo;
Larry O’Gaff/
Richard Brennan’s Favourite;
Humours of Ennistymon/
Cherish the Ladies;
Jackson’s Morning Brush/
Rambling Pitchfork;
Templehouse (Goat in the Green)/
Apples in Winter;
Lark in the Morning (Trip to Sligo)/
Tell Her I Am;
(Trip to Sligo)/
Dougherty’s (D—’s Fancy);
Frieze Britches.
Monaghan Jig.
Old Grey Goose.
hornpipes ~
Stack of Barley/
(Bantry Bay);
Liverpool/
Pretty Maggie Morrissey;
Galway/
McDermott’s;
Stage/
Western;
Byrne’s Hornpipe/
Tommy Hill’s Favourite;
Harvest Home (actually, Higgin’s)/
(Parker’s Fancy);
Derry.
Murray’s Fancy (the Cuckoo).
polkas ~
Casey’s (Up and Away)/
(Denis Murphy’s);
slip jigs ~
Foxhunter’s/
Comb Your Hair & Curl It;
barndances ~
James Gannon’s
Belle of the Ball;
Mrs. Kenny’s Barndance.
set dances ~
Blackbird (w. reel, Molloy’s Favourite)
Job of Journeywork.
schottisches ~
Killarney Wonder (Macroom Lasses/
Finnea Lasses);
waltzes ~
Mrs. Kenny’s Waltz/
Men of the West (Gentle Maiden);