Dunphy’s Hornpipe

Hornpipe, G, Traditional Irish
Also know as Dumphy’s; Dunphies

A jaunty and cheerful Irish hornpipe, this tune was among those collected and published by Francis O’Neill in the early 1900s. It may be that the “Dunphy” that the tune is named for was O’Neill’s source for the tune.

Recordings

• Audio – John Whelan: Dunphy’s – Galway Hornpipes – played on button accordion. From John Whelan’s 2021 “Taking Time” Session Recordings Archive, Taking Time #2. (Vashon Island, Washington, USA)
• Video – Jerry Holland: Pretty Maggie Morrissey / Dunphy’s Hornpipe / Sally Gardens / King of the Clans – played on fiddle with piano. From the album Parlor Music.
• Audio – Stephen Ducke: Dunphy’s Hornpipe – played on tin whistle

Sheet Music (Dots)

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. There are two versions of the tune below: The first, the essential version, has simple ornamentation, with just a few triplets included to give the tune a hornpipe feel. The second, “dressed-up” version has more ornamentation, and some other minor variations — it may be more challenging to play up to speed, but it adds richness to the basic tune.

Version 1: Essential Tune

This is the essential version of the tune. The ornamentation is kept very simple, with just a few triplets included to give the tune a hornpipe feel.

Version 2: Dressed-Up Version

This version of the tune has more ornamentation and has some other slight variations from the essential tune. The ornamentation and variation in this version come from the playing of John Whelan (John Whelan’s 2021 “Taking Time” Session Recordings Archive, Taking Time #2).

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Dunphy’s Plains Hornpipe Set: Dunphy’s Hornpipe (G) / The Plains of Boyle (D)
• Plains of Boyle / Dunphy’s
• Dunphy’s / Galway Hornpipe
• The Boys of Bluehill / Dunphy’s

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Shane Farrell: Dunphy’s Hornpipe – played on tenor banjo
  • Video – All Of O’Neill’s 1001: 810 Dunphy’s Hornpipe (ep 221) – played on tin whistle
  • Video – Pat Barton: Dunphy’s – Irish traditional hornpipe on button accordion
  • Video – Paddy Keenan: Dunphy’s Hornpipe/The High Level
• Books
  • Book & Audio – Grey Larsen: 150 Gems of Irish Music for Tin Whistle – with audio tracks of the tunes played on tin whistle
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
  • Book – Francis O’Neill: O’Neill’s Music of Ireland (1903)
  • Book – Francis O’Neill: The Dance Music of Ireland (1907)
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: Dunphy’s (Hornpipe) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information.
  • Web page – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Dunphy’s Hornpipe – curated information about the tune
  • Website – John Whelan (musician) – John Whelan plays traditional Irish tunes on button accordion. His website has information on his recordings, upcoming performances, Ireland tours, Taking Time Sessions, and teaching. (Vashon Island, Washington, USA.)
  • Article – Wikipedia: Francis O’Neill