KelticDead Music: Lord Mayo's Delight
There is some confusion (and contention) as to who actually composed this melody which was dedicated to the 6th Viscount Mayo, Theobold Bourke, 1681-1741, in the 1st “generation” of Viscounts of Mayo which started from the first Lord of Ireland (Tiaboid naLong Bourke, 1567 – 1629). English titles can be confusing.
In Captain Francis O’Neill’s compendium of Irish dance tunes (Irish Minstrels and Musicians, 1913), he gave credit to two authors of the tune; David Murphy (Dáithi Ó Murchadha of Castlebar, County Mayo), a harper whose patron was Lord Mayo, Theobald Bourke, 1681–1741. (David was a contemporary of Turlough OCarolan, and David is credited with the “march” version of the melody), and Thady O Cianain (in the same period of time) who may have had a similar arrangement as a “slow(er) aire” to which was called the “The Arrival of Fionna.” Other variants can be found like "Lord Franklin."
There's a little back story about David Murphy in the KDM Broadside. While I mentioned that David was a harper and conceited, when he got into a brawl with Turlough OCarolan about their respective talents, the actual story was that Turlough was so angry with David's impudence that he dragged David out of the pub by his hair. Needless to say, this scene did not sit well with David's patron, Lord Mayo.
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