The Pride of Petravore

Hornpipe, E minor, Irish, composed by William Alexander Houston Collisson (1865 – 1920)
Also known as Eileen Og; Eileen Oge
TrailJams Tune of the Week for May 27, 2021; September 1, 2024; October 25, 2026

Played as a hornpipe, this Irish tune has a whimsical Slavic feel. Is it actually a hornpipe? Not really. The tune originated as a song.

The song this tune comes from is a comical lament, with music composed by Dublin-born William Alexander Houston Collisson (1865 – 1920) and lyrics by Percy French (1854–1920). The title of the song is Eileen Og, or The Pride of Petravore. In the song, young Eileen’s beauty makes all of the young men shy. That shyness turns to jealousy and regret when Eileen is “stolen away” by McGrath the cattle jobber. (The Irish word “og” means young, so Eileen Og, the song’s alternate title, means “young Eileen”.)

Petravore is a crossroads in Ireland’s County Cavan, with the town of Petravore, and Eileen herself having been created from Percy French’s imagination. The name “Petravore,” or “Pedar a Voher” loosely comes from an Irish phrase meaning “Peter of the Road,” referring to Peter McGovern, the proprietor of a public house at the crossroads.

“I’d like to set me mark upon the robber,
For he stole away the Pride of Petravore!“
— from the song Eileen Og, or The Pride of Petravore

Recordings

• Video – PeakFiddler: Eileen Oge – The Pride of Petravore
• Video – De Dannan: The Rights of Man / The Pride of Petravore – from the album How the West Was Won. (The Pride of Petravore starts at time 1:18 in this recording.)
• Video – Socks in the Frying Pan: Spaceships and Frying Pans: The Pride of Petravore / The Lads of Laois / The Sailor On the Rock – from the album Return of the Giant Sock Monsters from Outer Space

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.

• King of the Fairies Hornpipe Set: King of the Fairies (Em) / The Pride of Petravore (Em)
• The Rights of Man / Pride of Petravore
• Pride of Petravore / The Lads of Laois / Sailor on the Rock

References and Resources

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

• More recordings
  • Video – The Whistler: The Pride of Petravore (Hornpipe) – tin whistle solo
  • Video – The Dubliners: Eileen Og – as a song. From the album 30 Years A Greying
  • Video – The Lasses: Eileen Og – as a song
  • Video – The Craic Addicts: “Eileen Óg” (The pride of Petravore) – as a song
  • Video – Ian & Sylvia: Pride of Petravor – as a song
• Lessons
  • Lesson – John Driscoll: Pride of Petravore – Irish Tinwhistle Lesson – video lesson for tin whistle
  • Lesson – PeakFiddler: Fiddle Lesson – Irish Reel ‘Eileen Oge – The Pride of Petravore’ – video lesson with on-screen sheet music
  • Lesson – Aodan Coyne – DADGAD: Hornpipe Guitar Lesson – The Pride Of Petravore – video lesson for guitar accompaniment on DADGAD-tuned guitar. (With melody played on button accordion.)
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Backer Corner with Matt Heaton – Hornpipe Rhythm – video lesson, advice for playing backing guitar for hornpipes
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Wikipedia: Houston Collisson – biography of the composer of the tune
  • Article – Wikipedia: Tullynamoltra – this article makes brief mention of the Pedar a Voher’s Crossroads
  • Article – Frank McNally (The Irish Times): Road less travelled – Frank McNally on Percy French and the real-life Petravore
  • Webpage – Oxford Slow Session: Pride of Petravore (sheet music; links to recordings)
  • Webpage – The Session: Pride of Petravore – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more
  • Webpage – Irishtune.info: The Pride of Petravore – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
  • Webpage – The Traditional Tune Archive: Pride of Petravore (The) – sheet music, lyrics, and other information about the song and tune