Alexander's Hornpipe, Fisher's Hornpipe In early collections a hornpipe is normally named after the dancer who danced  it, usually in a stage performance. Alexander may have been one such dancer but  nothing is known of him. Ballymanus Fair is another name for it. Fisher's  Hornpipe is found in numerous collections and under dozens of titles. Though often called the Fisherman's Hornpipe, it takes its name from a Dutch dancing-master, Visser, who gave exhibition dances on the London stage in the  1770's. The setting Neil plays here has the phrases at the beginning of part 2  in a different order to the usual version. The Bonny Bunch of roses One of the most popular of the numerous Napoleonic songs found in Ireland. The Bonny Bunch of Roses takes the form of a dialogue between 'Young Napoleon' and his mother, widow of the great Bonaparte. She tells him how the Bonny Bunch  of Roses - England, Ireland and Scotland, proved to be his father's downfall, and he promises to conquer them, but death prevents him. A number of Irish songs  were also written to this air, An Beinnsin Luachra, for example. Clancy's Dream, The Connaughtman's Rambles Clancy's Dream is from the playing of the great flute-player John MacKenna,  who came from Tarmon, Co. Leitrim. The Connaughtman's Rambles, in contrast, is widely known and is one of those rare Irish dance-tunes which have only one  title. A bawdy song, Bean ag baint dilisge, is sung to it in lrish. The 'turn'  or second part of the tune can be quite dull compared to the first part, but  here Neil improves and enlivens it with some tasteful variations. Barr na Cuille This highly attractive reel is one of Neil's own compositions. He says of it:  'This was the first tune that I ever composed and I called it after the  birthplace of my father -Barnacoola. Co. Leitrim - feeling that it would be an  appropriate way of honouring him, who was, and continues to be, the greatest  inspiration for my music.' Fath Mo Bhuartha This lovely air carries the words of a song in which the poet, having been expelled from his own locality, laments his inability to visit his loved one. Though found primarily in the west of Ireland, it is quite close to a Munster song, Mo Mhuirnin Ban. The Whinny Hills of Leitirm, The Drops of Brandy One of the vagaries of musical fashion is that slip-jigs, tunes in 9/8, are  now rarely played which is a pity since many of them are graceful and attractive tunes. The Whinny Hills of Leitrim was learned by Neil from his father. The  Drops of Brandy belongs to a cycle of tunes to be found all over the British  Isles and dates back to the seventeenth-century at least. It has dozens, if not  hundreds of variants and relations, ample testimony of its widespread and  continued popularity. Uirchill an Chreagain This song was composed by Art Mac Cumhthaigh (1738-73), probably the greatest  of the Irish poets who flourished in south-east Ulster in the eighteenth century. The title refers to the churchyard of Creggan in South Armagh and the  song laments the passing of the Irish lords of the area, the O'Neills of the  Fews, whose ancestral burial vault is in the churchyard. The Salamanca, Bonny Kate, The Copperplate These three great reels, ultimately of Scottish origin, are ideally suited to  the pipes. The first, 'Wild Salamanca,' is named after Wellington's Penninsular  War victory in 1811. Noteworthy is the way in which the second part climaxes on  the highest note attainable on the chanter, d". Bonny Kate was originally  published in 1761 as The Bonny Lass of Fisherrow and attributed to Daniel Dow.  This reel soon passed into Irish tradition in which it has thrived. The odd-sounding title The Copperplate appears to be a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic title Caber Feidh 'The deer's horns,' a tune that was also borrowed, in a  different key, as Rakish Paddy. Port na h-eala air an traigh This song, 'The song of the swan on the beach,' comes from the island of Barra In the Outer Hebrides where Seamus Ennis learned it from Annie Johnston while collecting for the Irish Folklore Commission. 'Chreachadh mo niod,' the  swan sings, 'S mi fhein an Eirinn' - 'my nest has been plundered whilst I was in Ireland'. Neil learned it from hearing Seamus Ennis sing it during one of his many visits to the Mulligan home. John Egan's Hornpipe Named after the late John Egan, the fiute-player from Riverstown, Co. Sligo, who was one of tha mainstays of traditional music in Dublin for  decades. Lucy Capbell, Miss Monaghan As the name would indicate, Lucy Campbell is a Scottish tune, Miss Louisa  Campbell's Delight, first published about 1780. Particularly attractive here are the crisp staccato ornaments on the high A in the third part and on the high  F sharp in the fourth. Unlike the previous reel, Miss Monaghan has numerous other titles. It allows the piper to display his command of the instrument and,  indeed, it was a showpiece of the late Seamus Ennis. Dark is the colour of my true love's hair A beautiful love-song which is very adaptable to the uilleann pipes. The air of this song had been lost in Ireland and it was learned by Willie Clancy an American singer whom he heard at a folk festival in Warsaw in the late  1950's. The Leitrim Slashers, The Langstern Pony The first jig, a fine swinging tune better known as The Kinnegad Slashers, is  undeservedly neglected. Scots will recognise it as The Bannocks of Barley Meal but whether it was originally Irish or Scottish is impossible to say. The more open, flowing structure of this jig contrasts very nicely with the tighter, more angular structure of The Langstern Pony. It is certainly a pipers composition  and this is a good example of how a fairly mundane tune can sparkle under the  fingers of a good piper. The Standing Abbey, Tom Mulligan's Hornpipe The first hornpipe, The StandIng Abbey, was learnt by Neil from the playing  of Seamus Ennis. Tom Mulligan's Hornpipe is another composition of Neil's and is  dedicated to his father Torn, a flddler and piper. Wings of my Soul This air was composed by Neil as a gesture of gratitude to the people of Estonia.  The title was inspired by the words of Tarmo Urb after he had heard the pipes at a concert in the university town of Tartu in Estonia: 'When I heard the sound of the pipes, everything left my body - all that remained was my sould and ears to hear the music. Your music is wings to a human soul' The Yellow Tinker, The Bucks of Ornamore Here again two tunes are contrasted. The first is a flowing mainly legato tune, with a strong modal feel to it.  The Bucks of Ornamore, on the other hand, is one of the most popular Irish reels ever.  Pipers regard it as a test piece and the late Seamus Erinis always concluded a recital with it.  The tune's closeness to the likes of Lucy Campbell would suggest that it too was an immigrant. According to older musicians, what is now the second part was originally played first.