Jig, Em, traditional Irish
Also known as: The Boys of Tandragee; The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee
TrailJams Tune of the Week: October 15, 2023; June 15, 2025
A rollicksome, frolicsome jig named for the boys of the Irish town of Tandragee.
The town of Tandragee is located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. From the Irish Tóin re Gaoith, the town’s name means “backside to the wind.” Earlier spellings of the name include Tanderagee and Tonregee.
Rollicksome, frolicsome, frisky and free
From the song The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee (author unknown)
We’re the rollicking boys around Tandragee
Recordings
- Video – Dulahan Ireland: The Boys of Tandragee – played on fiddle and tenor banjo with rhythm guitar. (Dulahan is the duo of Joe and Adele Green, County Mayo, Ireland.)
- Video – Kevin Burke: Up Sligo/The Rollicking Boys Around Tandaragee/Out With The Boys – from the album In Concert. (The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee starts at time 1:15 in this recording.)
- Audio – Alex Sturbaum: Fraher’s / Boys of Tandragee / Scatter the Mud (feat. Betsy Branch) – played on fiddle (Betsy Branch) with rhythm guitar (Alex Sturbaum), from the album Slash (Olympia, Washington, USA). (Boys of Tandragee starts at time 1:53 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 from the Dots
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Rollicking Petticoat Jig Set: The White Petticoat / Donnybrook Fair / The Rollicking Boys of Tandragee
- Paddy’s Return Jig Set: Paddy’s Return (Kitty Lie Over, D) / The Rollicking Boys of Tandragee (Em) / Willie Coleman’s (G)
- Fraher’s / The Rollicking Boys of Tandragee / Scatter the Mud
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Fourwinds: The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee – song and tune (in D minor), from the album Fourwinds
- Video – Charles Monod (Tunes from Doolin): Boys of Tandragee (Jig) | Irish Music Tunes – played on concertina. For sheet music and comments see Tunes from Doolin website.
- Audio – The Yanks: The Girl From the Big House / The Boys of Tandragee / Anthony Frawley’s / Drummond Castle (jigs) – from the album The Yanks (New York, New York). (The Boys of Tandragee starts at time 1:05 in this recording.)
- Video – Shane Farrell – The Rollicking Boys of Tandragee Jig. Irish Tenor Banjo Music – played on tenor banjo
- Books
- Book – Susan Songer with Clyde Curley: The Portland Collection, Volume 1 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest.
- Book & Audio – Matt & Shannon Heaton: In Harmony
- Additional Resources
- Webpage – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Boys of Tandragee – reference information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng.
- Webpage – Traditional Tune Archive: Rollicking Boys of Tandragee – reference information about the tune and song; sheet music. Curated by Andrew Kuntz & Valerio Pelliccioni.
- Article – Wikipedia: Tandragee