Chief O’Neill’s Favorite

Hornpipe, D Major, Traditional Irish
Also known as Chief O’Neill’s Favourite

A favorite Irish hornpipe that has evolved over the past century, in the living tradition of folk music. Along the way, the tune has picked up some notes that pull it out of its key signature and add some quirky charm.

Francis O’Neill was the Chicago Chief of Police from 1901 to 1905. He was also a flautist, fiddler, and piper, and is most famous for his published collections of Irish tunes.

When this tune was published in O’Neill’s Music of Ireland in 1903, it had the two sharps of a D major tune, and no accidentals. That changed quite a bit as it was played by Barney McKenna on The Dubliner’s self-titled album in 1964. That version included both C natural and F natural notes, bringing some tasty twists to the tune, including a switch to F major for the beginning of the tune’s second half. Exactly where the C notes in the tune are played as sharp or natural varies among players, which means that some subtle negotiation may be needed as musicians come together to play the tune.

Recordings

• Video – Chris Smith: Chief O Neill’s Favorite/Kitty’s Wedding – from the album Coyotebanjo, Irish Traditional Music from America, Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Played on tenor banjo and fiddle with bouzouki backing.
• Video – Enda Scahill: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite Hornpipe on Irish Tenor Banjo
• Video – Tunes From Doolin (Charles Monod): Chief O’Neill’s Favourite (Hornpipe) – played on concertina

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference. This version is adapted primarily from the playing of Barney McKenna and The Dubliners. It is simplified, with ornamentation removed — to play it well, be sure to add triplets and other ornamentation. Tin whistle players should consider the variation given below that avoids the F natural notes in the first measure of the B part of the tune.

Variation for Tin Whistle
The B part of the tune opens with low F natural notes that are difficult to play solidly on a tin whistle. Here is a variation for the first measure of the tune’s B part that replaces those F naturals with A notes.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Francis & Kitty’s Hornpipe Set: Chief O’Neill’s Favorite (D) / Kitty’s Wedding (D)
• The Rights of Man / Chief O’Neill’s Favourite

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Audio – Fiddlehead: Chief O’Neill’s​/​Kitty’s Wedding – from the album The Pure Drop.
  • Audio – Castlerock (Slowplayers): Chief O’Neil’s Favorite – played at a slow tempo on flute and fiddle. From the album Session Tunes volume 1 by Castlerock. Angeline LeLeux (fiddle) and William Bajzek (flute), who produced the album under the name “Slowplayers” later renamed their duo “Castlerock.” (Mt. Vernon, Washington, USA)
  • Video – The Dubliners: Chief O’Neill’s / Cork Hornpipe – played on tenor banjo by Barney McKenna. From the album The Dubliners.
  • Video – The Irish Mandolin (Aidan Crossey): Chief O’Neill’s Favourite – recorded for The Mandolin Cafe’s Song-A-Week Social Group, 4 October 2021
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite (Hornpipe) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes. Watch out for this: in this version of the tune, the opening note of the B section is an F# rather than an F natural.
  • Video – Michael Eskin: “Chief O’Neill’s Favourite” Hornpipe on B/C Box – video of melody played on button accordion; sheet music displayed at the end of the video
• Books
  • Book – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes. Watch out for this: in this version of the tune, the opening note of the B section is an F# rather than an F natural.
  • Book – Shannon Heaton: Oil for the Chain, Traditional and Original Irish Music – with audio tracks of the tunes played on flute; no chords.
  • Book – O’Neill: Music of Ireland – Francis (Cpt.) O’Neill,1903 (A.k.a., O’Neill’s 1850)
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Enda Scahill: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite – The Ultimate Irish Banjo Hornpipe? – introduction to the tune and to the lesson. (Full lesson requires subscription to Enda Scahill’s Patreon account.)
  • Lessons – Online Academy of Irish Music – lessons on fiddle and flute. Requires subscription to OAIM.
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – Tunes from Doolin: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite – sheet music, ABC notation, video and more
  • Webpage – The Session: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite Hornpipe – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more.
  • Webpage – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Chief O’Neill’s Favorite – curated & archival information about the tune
  • Article – Wikipedia: Francis O’Neill – a brief biography, with links to additional information