Reel, G, Irish, also known as Father Kelly’s No. 1; Father Kelly’s Favourite
Composed by Father P.J. Kelly (1926 – 2006) of Woodford, County Galway, Ireland.

This tune was composed by Father P.J. Kelly around 1960. He gave it the title “The Rossmore Jetty,” but it has become more commonly known as Father Kelly’s Reel. It is a very popular session tune. The Rossmore Jetty is (apparently) a jetty or pier on the river Shannon near Father Kelly’s hometown of Woodford in East Galway.
Recordings
- Video – Caitlin Warbelow: Father Kelly’s – Reconciliation – Mountain Road – MacArthur Road: Far North Fiddle Fest 2018 (Troy MacGillivray; Caitlin Warbelow; Louis-Charles Vigneau; Sabra MacGillivray.
- Video – PeakFiddler: Father Kelly’s Reel
- Audio – George Penk, Clyde Curley, Susan Songer: Father Kelly’s from the album A Portland Selection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest
Dots (Music Notation)
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.

Play from the Dots
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Father Kelly’s / Castle Kelly
- Father Kelly’s Reel / Cooley’s Reel
- Father Kelly’s / Reconciliation / Mountain Road / MacArthur Road
- Ben Hill / The Rossmore Jetty (both tunes by Father P.J. Kelly)
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Audio – Comhaltas: Father Kelly’s – from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
- Books
- Book – The Portland Collection, Volume 1 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest. By Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
- Book – Gary Coover: 75 Irish Session Tunes for Anglo Concertina (Rollston Press).
- Book – Comhaltas: Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
- Lessons
- Video – TheBanjoBuddy: Father Kelly’s Reel (With ABCs) – Traditional Irish Music Tutorial by James Finnegan – tenor banjo tutorial
- Video – Michael Kelly: Irish Trad Slow Session WORKSHOP: Father Kelly’s Reel – fiddle tutorial
- Video – Michael Eskin: TradLessons.com – Father Kelly’s (Whistle) – tin whistle tutorial
- Additional Resources
- Web page: The Session: Father Kelly’s Reel – crowdsourced sheet music and information about the tune.
- About Father P.J. Kelly
- Article – Eugene Chadbourne: P.J. Kelly Artist Biography (AllMusic.com)
- Article – Wikipedia: Woodford, County Galway — a brief article about the village of Woodford