Most-Recorded Hornpipes
The Top Ten Hornpipes of the Century

Of related interest:
  • Top 100 Tunes of the Century.
  • Top Ten
  • Rhythm Distribution: How common is this rhythm (tune type) in the bigger picture of all distinct Irish tunes?
  • Recordings by Decade: A graph of the historical distribution of the recordings considered here.

This list ranks the top ten most-recorded hornpipes out of the 311 distinct hornpipes on the indexed recordings. The tunes are ranked in descending order of number of recordings. When tunes have the same number of recordings, tunes having the oldest recordings appear first. Note that reuses of a particular cut in later anthologies are counted, which is fair, since the popularity of a recording is a good indicator both of the popularity of the tune and of the likelihood that musicians will learn the tune from that recording.

Click Tune Info below to see tune details and sources.

RankNumber of
Recordings		Explanation
Titles used for this tune (and other notes)
120 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Stack of BarleyStack of Barley, The / Stack of Barley / The Little Stack of Barley / An Staicín Eorna / An Staicín Eornan / The Stacks of Barley / Little Mary Cassidy / Evening Was Waning / Patrick Condon's Vision (1st in set Stack of Barley Set on CLnn 2; 2nd in set Hooley with the Herd on TWnch) (also in D, also in C, also as barndance, also as song Kerry Long Ago) (compare The Stack #5055)
219 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Dunphy's HornpipeDunphy's Hornpipe / Cornphíopa Uí Dhonnchaidh / Miss Dunphy's Hornpipe / Dunphy's / Dumphy's / Dumphy's Hornpipe / Cornphíopa Uí Mhurcú
315 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Rights of ManRights of Man, The / Rights of Man (also in B Dorian) (composed by James Hill)
415 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Boys of BluehillBoys of Bluehill, The / Boys of Bluehill / Boys of Blue Hill / Buachaillí an Chnoic Ghoirm / Beaux of Oak Hill / Beaux of Oakhill / Lads of North Tyne (compare Jimmy Keane composition Bluehill on Boh 4, included here; compare old-time tune Keep the Ark A' Movin included here)
515 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Derry HornpipeDerry Hornpipe, The / The Derry / The Londonderry Hornpipe / Delaney's Favorite / Showman's Clog / The Ladies Hornpipe / The Liverpool Hornpipe / Cash's Hornpipe (also with from 2 to 6 parts in various orders)
614 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Harvest HomeHarvest Home, The / Baile an Fhómhair / Harvest Homes / Harvest Time / Féasta an Tarlaithe / The Harvest-Home Feast / The Cork Hornpipe / The Cincinnati Hornpipe / [misspelled as:] The Cincinatti Hornpipe / Fairy Haunts (also in G) (compare #2407)
713 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Liverpool HornpipeLiverpool Hornpipe, The / Cornphíopa Learphoill / The Liverpool / An Learpholl / Liverpool / London Hornpipe / The Grove Hornpipe (also singled, also with 3 parts, also in G)
813 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Plains of BoylePlains of Boyle, The / Plains of Boyle / Magh Luirg / Má Luirg / Cornphíopa Mhaigh Luirg / Moylorg / Trans-Roscommon Airways / Cuid Magh na Buaille / Cooney's (as 1st in set Moran's Hornpipes on SltSdt)
912 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Off to CaliforniaOff to California / The Humours of California / Sweet Flowers of Milltown / The Sweet Flowers of Miltown / Bláthanna Cumhra Bhaile an Mhuilinn / Whiskey Hornpipe / The Whiskey Hornpipe / Fireman's Reel (3rd in set Up the Hill of Down on FBros) (also in A or D, also as schottische) (compare 1st part with 1st part of hornpipe Whiskey You're the Devil! #3691 and 1st part of reel Tom Morrison's #1924)
1012 – Tune
Info		Transcription of first 2 bars of Cronin's HornpipeCronin's Hornpipe / Cornphíopa Uí Chróinín / Cronin's / Cronins / Murphy's Hornpipe / Denis Murphy's (for 5th figure of Borlin Valley Polka Set on MISD 6)
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This page was updated on 16 July 2008.
© 2006–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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