Reel, A Dorian, traditional Irish
Also known as: Farewell to Erin; Farewell To Éire
This tune has been a part of the traditional Irish repertoire for well over a century, though it may be Scottish in origin. It is generally known by the title “Farewell to Ireland,” but when The Bothy Band recorded it in 1975 they published it with the title “Farewell to Erin.” (There are at least two other tunes with the title “Farewell to Erin.”) The tune is in A Dorian (minor), with an excursion into A Mixolydian (major) in its final section. (For a brief and friendly explanation of Dorian and Mixolydian modes, see the article: Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell.)
The ship in the illustration above is the PS Waverly. Built in 1946, she is currently the only seagoing paddle-steamer passenger-carrying ship in operation. The Waverly makes passenger excursions that include Scotland, England, North Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Recordings
- Video – The Dubliners: Farewell to Ireland – from the album Now
- Video – The Bothy Band: Farewell to Erin – from the album After Hours
- Video – Kevin Elam: Bucks of Oranmore/Farewell to Erin (with Tom McKeon) – played on tin whistle, with bodhran. (Farewell to Ireland starts at time 1:32 in this recording)
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.
About the chords: The A5 and G5 chords here are “omit 3” chords that are neither major nor minor. Using these chords keeps the harmony less dense and gives more space for melodic variation than would using full chords. Any of the A5 chords here can be replaced with A minor chords; any of the G5 chords can be replaced with G major.
Play-along Tracks
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Farewell Reel Set: Farewell to Ireland (A Dorian) / Ships are Sailing (E Dorian)
- The Cliffs of Moher (jig) / Farewell to Ireland
- Bucks of Oranmore / Farewell to Ireland
- The Noisy Curlew / Farewell to Ireland
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Celtic Fiddle Festival: Farewell To Ireland / Foxhunter’s Reel – from the album Encore (fiddlers Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunningham, and Christian Lemaître, with guitar accompaniment by Soïg Siberil)
- Video – John Whelan: Reels – Farewell To Erin / All Around The World – played on button accordion
- Video – Prawdziwe Perły: Farewell to Erin / The Ships Are Sailing (Reels) – from the album Na Wygnaniu
- Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): Farewell to Erin (Reel) played on tin whistle – from the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
- Books
- Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
- Book & Audio – Dave Mallinson: 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes
- Book – Francis O’Neill and James O’Neill: The Dance Music of Ireland (tune 805, Farewell to Ireland)
- Lessons
- Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Farewell to Ireland (Reel) – video lesson on flute
- Lesson – Aidan Crossey (The Irish Mandolin): Farewell To Ireland – a reel in A Dorian tabbed for mandolin and played by Aidan Crossey – video shows sheet music and tab, with mandolin
- Lesson – Kevin Burke (Fiddlevideo): Farewell To Erin (Reel): Trad Irish Fiddle Lesson – lesson with video and sheet music. (Excerpt of video lesson is free. Full lesson requires subscription to Fiddlevideo.)
- Additional Resources
- Article – Jonathan Lay (TrailJams): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell
- Webpage – The Session: Farewell to Ireland – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more
- Webpage – Irishtune.info: Farewell to Ireland – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
- Article – Wikipedia: PS Waverley – about the steam ship shown in the illustration for this tune