Tuesday 15 October 2019
Tune of the Day: The Little Heathy Hill
Traditional Irish tune
In his collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922), Francis O'Neill remarks:
In the days of our fathers, “An Chnoicin Fraoich”, or “Little Heathy Hill”, both as song and air enjoyed no little popularity in the province of Munster, particularly in the counties of Cork and Kerry. As an air several settings of the melody have been printed, but never as a hornpipe until now, and under its colloquial name among the peasantry. It will be remembered that many notable dance tunes, especially hornpipes and long dances, have been derived from song airs, such as “The Blackbird”, “The Job of Journeywork”, “The Garden of Daisies”, “Rodney's Glory”, and many others.