The Tullaghan Lasses / The Cameronian / The Pigeon on the Gate

These three reels are typical of the Donegal style of fiddling. Father Eoghan Ó Coilm, a cousin of Mairéad’s mother, and author of Toraigh na dTonn (Tory of the Waves) made important field recordings of the great John Doherty while stationed in the village of Carrick. John claimed that “The Tullaghan Lasses” was his father Simí’s favourite reel, which would lead one to believe that it is a very old tune. The second reel, “The Cameronian”, is associated with Scotland and may refer to those adhering to the seventeenth century religious teachings of Richard Cameron, or to a Scottish rifle regiment of the nineteenth century. It has come to prominence at sessions amongst young Donegal fiddlers and Mairéad heard this version from Glenties fiddler Tara Connaghan. Ronan Galvin also plays a version of it on Cairdeas na bhFidiléirí’s The Fiddle Music of Donegal, Volume Two; Ronan mentions James Byrne as his source. “The Pigeon on the Gate” is a popular reel in the Donegal traditional repertoire. This is one of a myriad of settings played.