O'Carolan Tunes on the Tin Whistle
Turlough O'Carolan's tunes on tin whistle: Sí Bheag Sí Mhór, Planxty Irwin, Planxty George Brabazon, and Planxty Hewlett.
If you searched "planxty irwin tin whistle," you have run into the word "planxty" and probably want to know both what it means and where to find the tab. A planxty is a tune composed in tribute to a patron, and the word is most associated with Turlough O'Carolan (1670 to 1738), the blind Irish harper whose melodies are still played across sessions and instruments, tin whistle included, three centuries later.
O'Carolan lost his sight to smallpox as a teenager, trained as a harper, and spent much of his life travelling Ireland as a working musician, staying with patrons and composing tunes named for them in thanks. That is where "planxty" comes from: most O'Carolan planxties carry a person's name, a small piece of music history attached to the household that hosted him. His melodies were written for harp but translate comfortably to whistle, since they are built from clear, singable lines rather than harp-specific technique.
That translation is not automatic, though. A harp can sustain several notes at once and let a chord ring under a melody, while a tin whistle only ever gives you one note at a time. On whistle, the weight that a harp would put into a supporting chord has to come from tone and phrasing instead: a longer, fuller breath on the notes that would have carried the harmony, and a lighter touch on the notes that were just passing between them. Listening to a harp recording of any of these tunes before you play it on whistle is worth the ten minutes, because it shows you where that underlying weight sits.
Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór
Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór is one of O'Carolan's best-known tunes and a reasonable starting point for exploring his repertoire on whistle. The title translates roughly to "little fairy hill, big fairy hill," and the tune is said to be connected to a local legend about two hills reputed to be fairy mounds, though that story is worth treating as folklore rather than settled fact. Musically it moves in long, singing phrases rather than quick ornamented runs, closer in feel to a slow air than to a dance tune, so approach it the same way you would approach phrasing and breath on any air.
Planxty Irwin
Planxty Irwin carries the same long-phrase, song-like character as Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór, and like most of O'Carolan's tunes, it rewards a relaxed, connected style of playing over anything fast or clipped. If you already have Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór under your fingers, this is a natural next tune, since the two share a similar melodic pacing even though the actual notes are different.
Planxty George Brabazon
Planxty George Brabazon has a bit more rhythmic movement than the two tunes above, with a lighter, more dance-adjacent pulse in places even though it is still written in straight time rather than a jig's compound meter, which makes it a useful tune for hearing how O'Carolan's writing shifts between purely lyrical airs and pieces with a bit more forward motion underneath. It is a good next step once the slower planxties feel settled, and it is a reminder that not everything O'Carolan wrote sits in the same mood. Some of his tunes lean toward the courtly and stately, others toward something closer to a dance, and part of building a feel for his repertoire is noticing which is which before you decide how to shape a phrase.
Open Planxty George Brabazon's tab
Planxty Hewlett
Planxty Hewlett is tagged easy on the site, which makes it a sensible entry point into O'Carolan's music if the other three feel like a lot at once. It keeps the same warm, singing character as the rest of his tunes but in a more compact, approachable shape, so start here if you want to get a feel for O'Carolan's writing before committing to a longer, more demanding air.
Eleanor Plunkett
Eleanor Plunkett is one of O'Carolan's most celebrated pieces, written for a member of the Plunkett family, and it is a step up from the four tunes above: the phrases run longer and the melody leaps further, so plan your breathing points before you try to play it through at speed. It is a good tune to move to once Planxty Irwin and Planxty George Brabazon feel settled.
Because these are all melodic, phrasing-driven pieces, the breathing and air control guide and the famous Irish tunes guide are both worth a look if you want to build out a wider slow-tune repertoire around O'Carolan's music.
Questions players ask
Who was Turlough O'Carolan?
O'Carolan was a blind Irish harper and composer who lived from 1670 to 1738. He travelled Ireland as an itinerant musician, composing tunes for the patrons who hosted him, and his melodies remain part of the core Irish traditional repertoire today.
What does "planxty" mean?
A planxty is a tune composed as a tribute to a specific person, usually a patron. Most of O'Carolan's planxties are named after the person they honor.
Are O'Carolan's tunes hard to play on tin whistle?
Most are written as long, singing melodic lines rather than fast, technical passages, which makes them approachable for an intermediate player focused on tone and phrasing rather than speed. Planxty Hewlett is the gentlest entry point among the tunes here.
Is Eleanor Plunkett available on the site?
Yes. It has its own tab, and it is one of O'Carolan's wider-ranging tunes, so treat it as a step up once Planxty Irwin and Planxty George Brabazon feel comfortable.