Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1830 (Star of Munster)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel32AABBA Dorian
Transcription of first 2 bars of Star of Munster
 about these two bars

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MGm (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Star of Munster, The / Star of Munster / Star Munster / The Bright Star of Munster / Birds in the Bushes / Kitty's Wishes / The Greenfields of America / The Eight O'Clock Train (2nd in set O'Dowd's Favourite Reel Medley on IDM 1) (also 2nd part or both parts singled, also in G Dorian or E Dorian or G Mixolydian)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd Discography

Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.

Year
Recorded
Track
#Tune
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
19163#3[JKm] John J. Kimmel. John J. Kimmel. Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Dance Music. John J. Kimmel (accordion).View album details
19224#2[IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. View album details
19268#2[LR 1] Leo Rowsome. Classics of Irish Piping. Leo Rowsome (pipes).View album details
19376#2[MG] various. Milestone at the Garden. Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era. View album details
~19562#2[Rnys] The Raineys. The Raineys. Paddy Rainey (fiddle), Stephen Rainey (fiddle), Bridie 'Biddy' Rainey (vocals).View album details
19642.1#1[MGm] Michael Gorman. The Sligo Champion. The Fiddle Music of County Sligo. Michael Gorman (fiddle, vocals).View album details
~196720#1[PKlly] Patrick Kelly. Patrick Kelly From Cree. Fiddle Music. Patrick Kelly (fiddle).View album details
19719#1[TPtts] Tommy Potts. The Liffey Banks. Tommy Potts (fiddle).View album details
~19761#2[KClns] Kathleen Collins. Traditional Music of Ireland. Kathleen Collins (fiddle).View album details
~19774#2[FG 1] Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn. Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, whistle), Alec Finn (bouzouki).View album details
~19785#1[KB Cap] Kevin Burke. If the Cap Fits. Kevin Burke (fiddle).View album details
~1978A.7#2[MMu] Martin Mulvihill with Mick Moloney. Traditional Irish Fiddling from County Limerick. Martin Mulvihill (fiddle).View album details
~197812#3[IT 2] The Irish Tradition. The Corner House. Billy McComiskey (accordion), Brendan Mulvihill (fiddle), Andy O'Brien (guitar, vocals).View album details
19804#2[FtE] Dolores Keane and John Faulkner with Eamonn Curran. Farewell to Erin (Farewell to Éirinn). Instruments not specified: Dolores Keane (vocals, etc.), John Faulkner (vocals, etc.), Eamonn Curran (pipes, etc.).View album details
~198616#1[HMSP] Joe Burke, Michael Cooney, Terry Corcoran. Happy to Meet and Sorry to Part. Joe Burke (accordion), Michael Cooney (pipes, whistle), Terry Corcoran (guitar, vocals).View album details
~19918#1[BT] Baal Tinne. . . . About Time. Noel Rice (flute, whistle), Kevin Rice (bodhrán, percussion), Cathleen Rice (fiddle), Matt Sundstrom (guitar), Paul Cienniwa (piano, keyboards).View album details
19925#1[MH 1] Martin Hayes. Martin Hayes. Martin Hayes (fiddle).View album details
~199411#6[NMCMM] various. The Northern Meeting. Celtic Music in Milwaukee. View album details
19958#3[EI 2] Eileen Ivers. Wild Blue. Eileen Ivers (fiddle), John Doyle (guitar), Tom 'T-Bone' Wolk (organ, accordion, guitar, bass), Ben Wittman (drums), Kimati Dinizulu (percussion).View album details
~19978#3[GL1] various. The Dance Music of Ireland. Jigs and Reels. View album details
19981#3[CFF 2] Kevin Burke / Johnny Cunningham / Christian Lemaître / Soïg Siberil. Celtic Fiddle Festival Encore. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Johnny Cunningham (fiddle), Christian Lemaître (fiddle), Soïg Siberil (guitar).View album details
~199817#2[MMR 2] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Old Fireside Music. Mike Rafferty (flute, pipes), Mary Rafferty (accordion, whistle).View album details
19993#3[JWh 2] John Whelan. Celtic Roots. John Whelan (accordion).View album details
199912#1[GCJR] Gerard Commane and Joe Ryan with Eoin O'Neill. Two Gentlemen of Clare Music. Gerard Commane (concertina), Joe Ryan (fiddle).View album details
~20046#2[JK 4] James Kelly. Melodic Journeys. James Kelly (fiddle).View album details

Bibliography

Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

As tune #1218 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #495 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #136 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. [available]
As tune #49 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." [available]
As tune #64 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. [available]
On page 99 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
On page 265 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. [available]
On page 10 of [TP] Tommy Peoples. Fifty Irish Fiddle Tunes. [available]
On page 6 of [SK] Sean Keane. Fifty Fiddle Solos. [available]
As tune #44 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. [available]
On page 62 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 62 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 103 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As reel #318 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #5 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. [available]

If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903