I am thinking that Spike Island Lasses is a bit crooked. Although it is written to look balanced/even, the actual phrases seem a bit cockeyed to me, e.g. the last bar of the B part does not resolve the last phrase, but seems to start a new one, leaving the B part short. Same with the last part. Probably its just my poor understanding of the tune, but it does seem a bit out of whack.
djm
X:1
T:Ted Smith’s Hornpipe
R:Hornpipe
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/2=84
K:D
(A|d3) (f(3edc) dB|[M:5/4]=cABG AF2 DG2|[M:4/4][AD]FAd BG BA|cAcu(cb2) (3agf|
ud3 (f(3edc) (dB)|[M:5/4]=cABG AF2 DG2|[M:4/4] [AD]FAd BG Bd|e A2 c d3:|
(c|d)cdc (3def ua2|gfgf (3efg ub2|afge f d2 u(f|e)dc(B Ac)ec|
dcdA (3def ua2|g(fg2) (3efg ub2|1afa(a f)(de)(c|d2) c2 d3:|2a(fg)(e f)(de)(c|d2) c2 d4|
This is what I would call a crooked tune, it has two 5/4 bars in the first part. I’ve heard the term used in various ways, though.
Barrack Street is another funny reel, I saw it transcribed with a bar of 5/4 followed by 3/4, or perhaps vice versa.