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The Coey Manuscripts

James and Arthur Coey were two fiddle playing brothers from Ballydrain, a townland approximately two miles south-east of Comber. James was born in 1870, Arthur in 1881.

Right
The opening page of James and Arthur's manuscripts.

James Coey 0 - title Rv1 cp.jpg

1

Reel - Lucy Campbell's Reel

James Coey 1 - Lucy Campbell (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 2 - Lucy Campbell (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

2

Reel - Untitled Reel (only 7 bars found)
Reel - Burn's Reel
Jig - The Lilies of France
(HD ref JS83)
[Titled
the Lilies of France by fiddle players like John Simpson & Willie McCloy this jig was collected by James O'Neill as the Girls of Banbridge]

James Coey 3 - Burn's Reel (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 4 - Burn's Reel (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

3

Jig - Untitled Jig (only 6 + 8 bars found)
Jig - Kiss the Ladies
Hornpipe - The Harvest Home
Reel - Polly's Reel
[Polly's Reel
is generally known under the titles of the Tap Room or the Youngest Daughter]

James Coey 5 - Kiss the Ladies (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 6 - Kiss the Ladies (2) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 7 - Polly's Reel Rv1 cp.jpg

4

Reel - Miss Hamilton's Reel
Highland Fling - The Highland Fling (only 3 bars found)

James Coey 8 - Miss Hamilton's Reel Rv1 cp.jpg

5

Reel - Untitled Reel (only 3.5 + 8 bars found)
Hornpipe - Untitled Hornpipe
Reel - The Yell Heifers
[Yell is a local word for dry or thirsty, hence The Yell Heifers
is named after heifer cattle that are thirsty or "dry", specifically when they are lowing. 
The reel is generally known as the Yellow Heifer or the Bunch of Keys]
Hornpipe - 
Drone's Hornpipe

James Coey 9 - Untitled Hornpipe (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 10 - Untitled Hornpipe (2) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 11 - Drones Hornpipe (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 12 - Drones Hornpipe (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

6

Reel - Untitled Reel (only 6.5 bars found)
Reel - The Banks of Inverness
Jig - Jackson's Maids (HD ref JS82)
Jig - The Green Little Island

James Coey 13 - Banks of Inverness (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 14 - Banks of Inverness (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

7

Reel - Untitled Reel (only 2 + 8 bars found)
Strathspey - The Miller of Drone
Reel - The Missing Inn Reel (only 4 + 1.5 bars found)
[The strathspey 
the Miller of Drone was composed by Nathaniel Gow and is contained in Part Second of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Tunes Strathspeys Jigs and Dances by Niel Gow & Son's (1810 - 1820)]

James Coey 15 - Millar of Drone (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 16 - Millar of Drone (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

8

Polka - Untitled Polka 
Reel - The Blackberry Blossom
Reel - The Yellow Coated Lassie (only 2 bars found)

James Coey 17 - Untitled Polka (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 18 - Untitled Polka (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

9

Strathspey - Untitled Strathspey (only 5 bars found)
Hornpipe - A Hornpipe generally titled The Belfast Hornpipe
Reel - Untitled Reel (title illegible and only 1 bar found)

James Coey 19 - Belfast Hornpipe (1) Rv1 cp.jpg
James Coey 20 - Belfast Hornpipe (2) Rv1 cp.jpg

10

Reel - Pretty Peggy Reel
Country Dance - John of Paris (only 8 bars found)

James Coey 21 - Untitled Reel Rv1 cp.jpg

11

Jig - Captain White
Polka - Untitled Polka (title illegible)
Polka - Ladies Polka (only 1st part found)

A Coey 3 - Captain White's Rv1.jpg
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