Far from Home

Traditional Irish Reel, G
TrailJams Tune of the Week for September 9, 2021; January 18, 2025

This reel is well-established in Irish traditional music, and continues to be popular in Irish session playing. Francis O’Neill, the famous collector of Irish tunes, names it as one the first two tunes he acquired after leaving his home in Ireland. Far from home at the time, he learned it in California at age nineteen, in about 1867.

Except two tunes — “Far From Home,” a reel, and “Off to California,” a hornpipe, picked up in the San Joaquin Valley, California, in my nineteenth year, no Irish music was added to my repertory until I became a school teacher at Edina, Knox County, Missouri, where I attained my majority.
— Capt. Francis O’Neill, Irish Folk Music, A Fascinating Hobby (1910)

Recordings

• Video – Boys of the Lough: Far From Home / Da Road To Houll – from the album Good Friends — Good Music (1977)
• Video – Nadia Birkenstock: Celtic Harp Solo “Far from Home” – arranged and performed on Celtic harp by Nadia Birkenstock
• Video – Rose Clancy: Far from Home / Hughie Shortie’s / Taybank Shenanigans (Reels) from the album Fiddle – Piano – Bass by Rose Clancy with Brendan Dolan

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.

Sets

Examples of sets that include Far from Home.

• Miss Monaghan Reel Set: Miss Monaghan (D) / Far From Home (G) / Saint Anne’s Reel (D, Irish)
• Lady Ann’s Traveling Tea Set: Far From Home (G) / Lady Ann Montgomery (D) / The Cup of Tea (D)
• Far from Home Reel Set: Far from Home (G) / Silver Spear (D) / Star of Munster (A Dor)
• Far From Home / Drowsy Maggie / Silver Spear

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Good Tunes Band: Far From Home from the album Good Tunes Band, Good Tunes, Vol.1
  • Video – Mossie Martin: Far From Home (fiddle) – video demo of the tune, fiddle solo
  • Video – Mossie Martin: Far From Home (tin whistle) – video demo of the tune, tin whistle solo
• Books
  • Book & Audio – Tom Morley: Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle
  • Book & audio – Shannon Heaton: The First 50 – PDF book; sheet music for 50 tunes with audio tracks for each tune.
  • Book – The Portland Collection, Volume 1 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest. By Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
  • Book – Francis O’Neill and James O’Neill: The Dance Music of Ireland (published 1907)
  • Book – Francis O’Neill and James O’Neill: O’Neill’s Music of Ireland (published 1903)
• Lessons
  • Video – Learning Irish Flute – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – Far from Home [Reel]
• Additional Resources
  • Book – Capt. Francis O’Neill, Irish Folk Music, A Fascinating Hobby, with Some Account of Allied Subjects Including O’Farrell’s Treatise on the Irish Or Union Pipes and Touhey’s Hints to Amateur Pipers (published 1910)
  • Web page – The Traditional Tune Archive: Far From Home – archival information about the tune