Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór

By tradition this is the first tune Turlough O'Carolan ever composed. His early patron, Squire George Reynolds of Lough Scur in County Leitrim, is said to have told the young harper he would do better with his tongue than his fingers, and pushed him to compose. Reynolds told him the legend of two nearby hills, Sí Bheag and Sí Mhór, home to rival fairy hosts who fought a great battle.

The title means "little fairy hill, big fairy hill." Donal O'Sullivan thought Carolan adapted an older air, "The Bonny Cuckoo," and Edward Bunting said much the same in 1840. Seán Ó Riada took it up in the mid 20th century, and Planxty's 1972 recording made it widely known.