Christmas Eve

Despite the seasonal title, this is a Tommy Coen reel — the work of the Galway fiddler of that name (1910–1974), who came from Urrachree near Aughrim in east County Galway and later settled in Salthill, working as a conductor on Connemara buses by day. By one account the title was never his own: a ceilidh-band leader from his district, having fallen out with Coen, carried the tune to a Christmas radio broadcast in Dublin and introduced it as "Christmas Eve" without crediting him, and the name stuck. Coen started on accordion before turning to the fiddle he's remembered for. It remains a popular session reel, and still travels under his name as "Tommy Coen's."