Application
Bunting's published evidence substitutes the term 'guaillí' (companion) for MacDonnell/Byrne's
'gilli' (servant). This would doubtless have been at the suggestion of an Irish speaker. It is not
clear at which stage this substitution was made, whether the term was genuinely known to the
Irish speaker as a harp term, or whether this Irish speaker was revising MacDonnell's written
'Gilli'.
Bunting's published evidence instances guaillí na gcomhlaí (companion of 'the sisters') for the a
string and guaillí téad na feola (companion of 'the string of melody') for the e string but no such
string name as 'guaillí an chrónáin' (companion of the drone) for the A string. Instead freagrach
guaillí na gcomhlaí (the answer to the companion of 'the sisters') is given. The published
evidence explains that the word 'freagrach' was 'applied to all octaves in the bass, except the
cronan' so it would seem that the absence of 'guaillí an chrónáin' is not due to a lack of
aforesight. The 'téad leagaidh' is itemised but this may be a special case.
Bunting's system therefore has a guaillí only beside two strings; the d string téad na feola which
is tuned a fifth up from na comhlaí, and the g string dófhreagrach na gcomhlaí which is tuned up
an octave from na comhlaí. In the 1840 volume, all other strings, apart from the strings G up to
f, the two crónán strings and the téad leagaidh, are named freagrach or dófhreagrach and
tuned by octaves. This would appear very obviously to link the freagrach terms with the function
of tuning strings an octave apart.
MacDonnell's term giolla freagrach na gcomhlaí can be seen to work fairly well with the aa string,
but as it contains the term freagrach one would expect it to apply to the bass as well.
MacDonnell's string name seems constructed as if the term crónán did not exist as an
appellation, and would appear to rename the crónán indirectly as 'freagrach na comhlaí', which
contradicts Bunting's statement concerning how the term freagrach was applied in the bass. As
a term, MacDonnell's string name remains less preferable to either 'giolla an chrónáin' or
'freagrach guaillí na gcomhlaí'.