The reel has been popular in County Donegal under the original title, and is played elsewhere on the island as a hornpipe, variously titled " Humors of Tuamgraney," "Humors of Tuamgreine," "Tuamgraney Castle," and "Tomgraney Castle (1)," while a Northumbrian version is called "Silver Street Lasses." The reel has been popularized by modern American Old-Time musicians, sourced to influential West Virginia old-time fiddler Franklin George, who also plays the Highland pipes and who has several British and Irish tunes in his fiddling repertoire. George learned the tune from a 78 RPM by the Honeyman Fiddlers, a cover name for the group The Cameron Men, who played it in a medley with "Loch Katrine" and "Miss Lyall." American spellings tend to be "Loch Lavan Castle." See also the similarly structured phrasing and similar melodic material of "Jerry Daly's Hornpipe (2)," "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps" and "Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (2)."
Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Fuzzy Mountain String Band (Durham, North Carolina), who learned the tune from Franklin George (W.Va.), and old-time fiddler who also plays the Scottish bagpipes [Brody]; Laurie Brownescombe (Spadaro); Joseph Doucette (b. 1910, Deblois Road, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].
Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 172. Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000; No. 41, p. 17. Davie (Davie’s Caledonian Repository), Aberdeen, 1829-30; p. 30. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 327. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; p. 94. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; Set 17, No. 2, p. 11. Laybourn (Köhler’s Violin Repository vol. 3), 1885; p. 235. Martin & Hughes (Ho-ro-gheallaidh), 1990; p. 20. Milne (Middleton’s Selection of Strathspeys, Reels &c. for the Violin), 1870; p. 37. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 85. Spadaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; p. 49.
Recorded sources : - Beltona Bel 2270 (78 RPM), David Hutchison (Edinburgh, c. 1936. Hutchinson was an accordion player nicknamed The Accordeon Strathspey King). Revonah RS-924, "The West Orrtanna String Band" (1976). Rounder 7008, "Jerry Holland" (1976). Rounder 0035, Fuzzy Mountain String Band- "Summer Oaks and Porch" (1973). Takoma D-1064, Norman Blake- "Directions." Ron Gonella - "Scottish Violin Music" (1966).
See also listing at :
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [2]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [4]
Hear Frank George's version at Slippery Hill [5]