Tuesday 2 September 2025
Tune of the Day: Cronin's Frolics
Traditional Irish jig
This jig is taken from Chicago Police Captain Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music of Ireland, published in 1907.
The tune is probably named after Chicago fiddler Edward Cronin (c. 1838–1918), originally from Limerick Junction, County Tipperary and a weaver by trade. O'Neill thought him one of the two best fiddlers in Chicago and praised his playing and his ability to improvise and to compose music, especially hornpipes. O'Neill traveled 12 miles each way to his house twice a week for two years to learn and transcribe tunes. However, “temperament and professional jealousy brought it all to an abrupt end without apparent cause”, although “when in the humor, no man could be more obliging and liberal with his music”.