The Otter’s Holt

Reel, B minor, composed by Martin “Junior” Crehan (1908 – 1998)
Also known as: Poll an Mhadra Uisce; The Water Dog’s Hole

The Otter’s Holt is a lively and well-loved Irish reel composed by Junior Crehan.

Martin “Junior” Crehan (1908 – 1998) was a renowned fiddler, composer, concertina player, and storyteller of County Clare, Ireland. This reel, known as Poll an Mhadra Uisce (“The Otter’s Holt”), was inspired by otters that would come close to Junior Crehan’s family home in West Clare when music was played there — a detail that has been preserved in the traditional lore surrounding the tune.

An otter’s holt is the den or shelter where an otter rests and raises its young, usually tucked into a riverbank, among roots, rocks, or dense vegetation close to the water. In Ireland, these quiet hiding places are part of the everyday riverside landscape—often unseen, but very much present.

Recordings

• Video – The Bothy Band: Music In The Glen / The Humours Of Scariff / The Otter’s Holt (Reels) – from the album The Best of the Bothy Band. (The Otter’s Holt starts at time 1:38 in this recording.)
• Video – Comhaltas: The Otter’s Holt – from the album Foinn Seisiún 3 published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
• Video – Tunes From Doolin: Tunes From UL #6 | The Otter’s Holt, The Trip To Durrow (Reels) – concert performance: Charles Monod (concertina); Fiona Kirwan (fiddle); Kieva McGonagle (harp).

Playlist – TrailJams Listening Series

Listen to a curated playlist (virtual album) of recordings of The Otter’s Holt. Absorb the tune by hearing it in multiple settings and arrangements. Listen, loop, and learn.

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.

• Otter’s Holt Reel Set: The Otter’s Holt (Bm) / Dick Gossip’s Reel (D) / The Star of Munster (A Dorian)
• The Otter’s Holt / The Trip To Durrow
• The Otter’s Holt / The Merry Blacksmith / Rakish Paddy
• Maud Millar / The Otter’s Holt
• Crowley’s / The Otter’s Holt

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – Martin ‘Junior’ Crehan (Clare County Library): Otter’s Holt – archival field recording of Junior Crehan playing his tune on fiddle.
  • Video – Andy M. Stewart and Manus Lunny: Take Her In Your Arms – song from the album Dublin Lady. The song’s lyrics are composed by Andy M. Stewart, to the melody of “The Otter’s Holt” by Junior Crehan.
  • Video – Whalebone: The Otter’s Holt – from the album Totally Plucked
  • Video – Mithril: The Otter’s Holt/Star of Munster – from the album The Return Home
• Books
  • Book – Susan Songer with Clyde Curley: The Portland Collection, Volume 2 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest
  • Book – Michael D. Long: The King Street Sessions Tunebook (Interactive edition by Michael Eskin) – free downloadable book in PDF format. The Interactive edition by Michael Eskin adds playable ABC transcriptions.
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Hatao (hatao’s Irish tune of the day): Otter’s Holt (Double Reel, Bm) – video lesson. Tune played on flute with on-screen sheet music.
  • Lesson – Ben Hockenberry: Otter’s Holt (Reel by Junior Crehan) on Irish tenor banjo for the Rochester CCE Learners’ Session – video lesson. Played on tenor banjo with on-screen sheet music.
  • Lesson – Tergal14 Mandolin: Irish mandolin lessons. The Otter’s Holt (reel) – video lesson, with on-screen tablature.
  • Lesson – Sean Cunningham (whistletutor):Tin whistle lesson – The Otter’s Holt (reel) – video lesson
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: The Otter’s Holt (Reel) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more.
  • Web page – irishtune.into: Otter’s Holt – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng