“Paddy on the Turnpike” is a traditional Irish fiddle tune that crossed into the American old-time and bluegrass repertoires through transatlantic migration and early commercial recording. The tune exists in many regional variants under titles including “The Bunch of Keys,” “Paddy on the Handcar,” “Plumber’s Reel,” “Flowers of Limerick,” and “Boys of the Spuds” — reflecting both its broad circulation across British Isles and American traditions and the typical fiddle-tradition habit of attaching multiple titles to closely related melodic material.
The first commercial recording was made in 1923 by Patrick J. Gaffney. The tune crossed firmly into the American bluegrass canon through later recordings: The Dillards and Byron Berline cut a version in 1965 that introduced the tune to the bluegrass-festival audience, and Bill Monroe and Doc Watson recorded a duet version in 1993 that fixed it as a standard for contemporary players.
The American “Paddy on the Turnpike” most commonly heard today is similar to the Irish tune “Mayor Harrison’s Fedora,” while the preferred Irish version is closer to “The Flowers of Limerick” — the family of related tunes branches in different directions across traditions. The tune is now a regular feature in bluegrass-fiddle workshops and at jam sessions where Celtic and bluegrass traditions overlap.