Dennis Murphy's Polka: A Song History

← Back to Browse By Song

"Denis Murphy's Polka," also spelled "Dennis Murphy's," is a two-part polka in D major from the Sliabh Luachra district on the border of Cork and Kerry.[1][2] It carries the name of the Kerry fiddler Denis Murphy (d. 1974), whom the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) calls one of "the great champions of Sliabh Luachra polkas and slides."[2][3] His parents brought in the itinerant fiddler and teacher Pádraig O'Keefe (Ó Caoimh) to teach Denis and his sister Julia, and he died suddenly in April 1974.[2][4] Sources differ on his birth year (1910 according to ITMA, 1912 according to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) and name his birthplace differently: ITMA and Comhaltas say Lisheen, the Traditional Tune Archive Gneeveguilla, and Comhaltas ties the Murphy family to the Knocknagree–Gneeveguilla area.[2][3][4] ITMA notes that he lived in New York for much of the period from 1942 to 1965.[3]

Oval 1854 photograph of a wooded river with a moored boat at the Meeting of the Waters, Killarney

Lord Otho Fitzgerald, The Meeting of the Waters, Killarney, albumen silver print, 1854. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0). A County Kerry scene, shown for atmosphere; it has no connection to the tune.

None of the sources consulted here says Murphy composed the polka, and the Traditional Tune Archive notes that the tune itself is considerably older than the title.[2] The Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman recorded it in New York around 1924 as the second tune in a set titled "Casey's."[1][2][5] Terry Moylan, as cited by the Tune Archive, thinks the Murphy title may first have appeared on an early Chieftains album, noting that the band appears to have learned a number of polkas and slides from Murphy and the accordionist Johnny O'Leary; the tune is on Chieftains 2 (1969).[1][2] Murphy's own version, recorded with O'Leary in 1949, was later issued on the CD Music from Sliabh Luachra.[1][2] Other titles include "Casey's," "Sweeney's," "Murphy's Polka," "Charley O'Leary's Favourite" and "Kitty Molloy's Favourite."[1][2]

The name is not unique: the Tune Archive has a second "Denis Murphy's Polka," also in D and noted from Johnny O'Leary,[6] and irishtune.info lists "Denis Murphy's" among the titles of an A-major tune it indexes as "Sweeney's Polka," which the Chieftains played just before this one on Chieftains 2.[1][7] Planxty recorded the polka discussed here on Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (1974), and it is printed in David Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983) and Dave Mallinson's 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes.[1][2]

Find books with Dennis Murphy's Polka for sale →

Sources

  1. irishtune.info: "Denis Murphy's Polka".
  2. Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Denis Murphy's Polka (1)".
  3. Irish Traditional Music Archive: "Denis Murphy".
  4. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann: "Denis Murphy (1912-1974)".
  5. Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Up and Away (3)".
  6. Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Denis Murphy's Polka (2)".
  7. irishtune.info: "Sweeney's Polka".