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The Union Reel was named after the Irish uilleann pipes, or union pipes. The tune disappeared from the repertoire of Irish traditional musicians around the turn of the century, and emerged again through a 78 rpm recording of a 10-key melodeon player, Frank Quinn, during the 1920s. Other 78 recording artists chose it for several recordings in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was made popular in the United States by Joe Derrane and later Gerry O’Brien, both accordion players. The tune made its way back to Ireland because of the 78 records being sought after by Irish musicians. It’s a unique story of a reel that left Ireland and later returned. This reel has always been played with two parts. The version on this recording has a extra part inserted between the original two, which means it is now a three-part reel.
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