Miss Monaghan

Reel, D, traditional Irish
Also known as Miss Monaghan’s

This lively reel has been in the Irish traditional repertoire for well over a century. It was among those published in 1903 by Francis O’Neill and James O’Neill in their collection, O’Neill’s Music of Ireland. The family name of Monaghan comes from Ireland’s ancient history, but curiously is not related to the name of County Monaghan.

Recordings

• Video – Patrick Madden and Friends: Miss Monaghan’s – Congress – Red Haired Lass – from the album Sounds of St. Andrews
• Audio – Comhaltas: Miss Monaghan – session recording from the album Foinn Seisiún 1: Traditional Irish Session Tunes, published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
• Video – Matt Molloy: Miss Monaghan / Maggie on the Shore – session recording, from the album Music at Matt Molloy’s. The playing demonstrates many variations on the tune.

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 this tune.

• Miss Monaghan Reel Set: Miss Monaghan (D) / Far From Home (G) / Saint Anne’s Reel (D, Irish)
• Miss Monaghan / Brenda Stubbert’s
• Miss Monaghan / The Congress Reel / The Red-Haired Lass
• Miss Monaghan / St. Anne’s Reel / The Wise Maid
• Miss Monaghan / Cooley’s / Charlie Lennon’s No. 4
• Pigeon on the Gate / Miss Monaghan

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – Castlerock (Slowplayers): Miss Monaghan – 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 – Jon Antonsson (Tunes & Tools): Miss Monaghan – Reel D (Slow Learning Tempo) – the tune played slowly and the fast, played on fiddle and flute with guitar accompaniment
  • Video – Mossie Martin: Miss Monaghan (Reel) – demonstrated on solo tin whistle, with ornamentation
  • Video – Enda Scahill: Miss Monaghan’s Reel. Irish Tenor Banjo – solo tenor banjo
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): Miss Monaghan (Reel) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes.
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
  • Book & Audio – Dave Mallinson: 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
  • Book & audio – Grey Larsen: 300 Gems of Irish Music for All Instruments
  • Book & Video – Enda Scahill: Learn Irish Banjo – Enda Scahill’s Irish Banjo Tutor Vol I – Downloadable book with tenor banjo demonstration video for each tune
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Sean Cunningham (whistletutor): Miss Monaghan’s Reel – Irish tin whistle lesson – video lesson with part-by-part breakdown and suggestions for ornamentation. The tutorial is in the key of D, even though Sean opens the video by playing the tune in Bb. (Tabs and sheet music on Patreon / whistletutor.)
  • Lesson – Baron Collins-Hill (Mandolessons): Miss Monaghan’s – video less for mandolin. the tune is taught by ear, with play-along tracks and downloadable sheet music & tab. Also: Miss Monaghan’s: Play Along Jam and Miss Monaghan’s: Simple To Complex
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: Miss Monaghan (Reel) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more
  • Web page – irishtune.info: Miss Monaghan – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
  • Article – Wikipedia: Monaghan (Surname)