I want to learn some new tunes. I really prefer airs and would like to know everyone’s favourites.
I’m personally madly in love with the “Arran Boat Song” and “Inisheer.”
The Lament for Owen Roe.
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=3783&highlight=favorite+favourite+slow+airs
Here are some good choices. I’m not trying to stifle the give and take of the conversation here, I just know I’d never remember all of these if I tried to list them myself.
My personal faves are Anach Chuin, Amhran na Leabhar and Dance of the Gypsy Queen (a non trad tune by Eoin Duignan that sounds as good as the best trad).
Port na bPucai, By The River of Gems, and Gentle Philip Fahy.
There’s so many!
Off the top of my head;
The Dark slender Boy
Roisin Dubh
Taimse im Chodladh (Blackbirds and Thrushes)
Bean Dubh an Ghleanna
Paddy’s rambles through the Park
Ar thaobh na Carraige (just got this one via ‘A Dossan of Heather’ collection of Packie Manus Byrne tunes- Beautiful!)
I favor airs too. Here are some of my favorites:
The Ash Grove (it ain’t Irish, but it’s definitely an air)
The Water is Wide/O Waly Waly
Amazing Grace (well, it’s a hymn, but what the heck)
South Wind (I play it a bit faster than I’ve heard it recorded, with a definite waltz swing)
Fil, Fil, A run O
The Parting Glass
The Star of the County Down
Eamonn a’Chnuic
Mo Mhuirnin Ban
An Londubh is an Cheirseach
Sally Gardens
An Buachaillin Ban
Ar Eirinn
Do You Remember That Night?
Contae Mhuigheo
Buachaill o’n Eirne
Caitlin Triall
An Boithrin Bui
Planxty Irwin
Fanny Power
Lord Inchiquin
Eleanor Plunkett
Si Beag, Si Mor
Dallas Skies (Avanutria’s beautiful lament for the Columbia astronauts)
That’s all I can think of at the moment.
Redwolf
“Lochaber No More” is great but it’s easy to confuse with one of my other favorite airs “Limerick’s Lamentation”
PC
Blind Mary
Wild Geese (Gye Fane/sp?)
And not exactly slow airs, but Crested Hens and Dowd’s #9, both as rendered by Solas.
Here are more: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=773&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30 and here: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=6450&highlight=laments+ballads
That’s gorgeous. I’ll learn that one first. 
“She Begs, She Moans”…
My sister-in-law wants me to play it at her wedding in 2 weeks! Any advice?
Star of the County Down as I learned it is a polka. Is there an air version?
Jim, whose version do you like the best, of the ones you’ve heard on CD?
I think Planxty has a recorded version to listen to for tips. I think it needs to be easy on the ornamentation, but it’s a fairly flexible piece.
Slainte does an air version that is quite pleasant. Si Beag Si Mor kills me on the high B in the second part.
I need to quit smoking!
I’ve never heard it played as a polka. I have played it in jig time occasionally, just for fun (it works well that way!), but it’s a song tune, and thus an air. I’ve heard it played in a rather ploddingly slow 4/4 (doesn’t work for me), but when I play it, I pick it up to 2/4…about the tempo at which The Irish Rovers sing it. It doesn’t have that polka lilt…it’s more like a march.
The version I know goes:
FBBBAFddedefedBAFA (I don’t know proper ABC, but you get the gist…capital letters are lower octave).
Is that the one you know?
Redwolf
Inisheer, Come By the Hills and (sorry, but) Londonderry Air, aka Danny Boy
The Star of the County Down
She Moves Through the Fair
and my very favorite(even if it’s not strictly “trad”)
Caoineadh Cu Chullain
My error. I learned it as a march.
Mine goes AAAGA CCdCd edCAF GEG etc. I learned it as a set with Dawning of the Day march. It was one of my early lessons.
Jim_mc,
Check PM.