The Merry Blacksmith

This reel had a different name almost everywhere it went. P. W. Joyce printed it as "The Boys of the Lake." Nineteenth century manuscripts from Longford and Leitrim call it "The Boy in the Gap," "The Peeler's Cap" and "The North Wall," and Cork piper James Goodman wrote it down as "The Railroad" and "The Police Jacket."

Brooklyn accordion player John Kimmel recorded it in 1915. Michael Coleman followed in 1921, playing it as the second tune in a medley called "The Boys of the Lough." Montreal fiddler Isidore Soucy recorded his own version in 1929.