Plains of Boyle

The name points to a real place: the rich limestone grasslands east of Boyle, in County Roscommon, long famed as cattle pasture and once the mensal lands of the MacDermots, Princes of Moylurg. The tune's Irish name, Magh Luirg, preserves that older title — the plain of Moylurg. A staple of the session repertoire, it was a favorite of Irish-American players in New York during the 78 era: the Killarga, County Leitrim flute and uilleann piper Michael Gallagher recorded it in 1924, the duo of P.J. Conlon and Tom Morrison the same year, and the Sligo fiddler James Morrison for Columbia in 1929.