Traditional Irish polka, G
Also know as: Peg Ryan’s; The Ballyfin Polka No. 1
TrailJams Tune of the Week: March 6, 2022; May 4, 2025
A traditional Irish polka named for the village of Murroe. Murroe is located in the north-eastern part of Ireland’s County Limerick, close to Limerick City and to the County Tipperary border. Ballyfin, another of the tune’s namesakes, is an Irish village 106 kilometers from Murroe. The tune is also known as Peg Ryan’s Polka, a name it shares with an entirely different tune.
Recordings
- Video – Caroline Keane: The Murroe Polka / The Taur Polka / Mick Duggan’s Polka from the album Shine, by Caroline Keane (traditional music on concertina).
- Audio – Comhaltas: Murroe Polka from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1, published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
- Video – Bobbi Nikles: Riding on a Load of Hay – The Murroe – from the album Fire in the Air. (The full list of tunes in that set: Riding On A Load Of Hay / The Murroe / Balleydesmond / Finnish / Jessica’s. The Murroe Polka starts at time 0:56 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.
Play-Along Tracks
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Little Diamond Polka Set: Little Diamond Polka (D) / Murroe Polka (G) / Maids of Ardagh (D)
- The Murroe Polka / The Taur Polka / Mick Duggan’s Polka
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Ian Learns Trad Tunes: Little Diamond Polka/Murroe Polka/Maids of Ardath – played on tenor banjo and mandolin.
- Books
- Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
- Additional Resources
- Web page – Wikipedia: Murroe — a very brief article about the Irish village of Murroe.
- Web page – Wikipedia: Ballyfin — a brief article about the Irish village of Ballyfin.
- Web page – The Session: The Murroe polka – Crowdsourced music notation and information.