Tune of the Day: Cnoic Uisnach
This air appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. The cited source is a P.J. O'Donohue of San Francisco. O'Neill writes:
I am informed by our liberal contributor, Mr. Francis E. Walsh of San Francisco, that variants of the above air are known to several of his musical acquaintances but by different names such as “Knuck Usnach Gathering”; “Knuck Costhnach”; “The Coming of Lugh”; and “The Poor Man's Friend”. Mr. O'Donohue, whose setting is presented, insists that it is the true air of “Willy Reilly”, the old time favorite of an earlier generation. The melody is the real thing however.
The Hill of Uisneach (Irish: Uisneach or Cnoc Uisnigh) is a hill and ancient ceremonial site in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is a protected national monument, consisting of numerous monuments and earthworks including a probable megalithic tomb, burial mounds, enclosures, standing stones, holy wells and a medieval road.