Words & Music by Mike Power

I wanted to learn a reel for St. Patrick’s Day and this was literally the first one to come up in a Google search. So I learned (more or less) how to play it (OK, less). The history of this reel, like many Irish things, is a little foggy. First, Joe Cooley may have stole the song from Joe Mills, at least according to Joe Mills, who claims to have written this tune and named it “Luttrell’s Pass” in remembrance of the Battle of Augrim in the 17th Century.

The story goes that Joe Cooley was a young lad of 18 or so when he first heard Joe Mills playing the tune, (1938). They were both members of the Aughrim Slopes Band and Cooley was reported to be mad for the tune. He quickly learned it, and played it sometimes 2 and 3 times per night.

Michael Gorman claims that he wrote it and that it’s actually called “Put the Cake in the Dresser,” and Mayo accordianist Vincent McGrath claims that his uncle John McGrath wrote it. Whoever wrote it, it’s a fun tune to learn and play. The story of the competing claims of composition comes from Cranford Publications. I got the guitar tabs from Bucky Reed and have included them below. The keyboard stuff is my own variation. 

 Part A

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