Conversely, the the C#/D model is far more suited to a rather edgier and more punchy style such as the wonderful Kerry polkas. Other notable proponents of the B/C version include Bobby Gardiner, James Keane and Finbarr Dwyer. Dublin-born James Keane transported the instrument across the Atlantic, where he used it during his important performing and recording career. An instrument tuned to B/C is ideal for a more fluid style of playing, such as that made popular in the 1940s and 1950s by the Tipperary-based musician Paddy O’Brien and subsequently Sonny Brogan and Joe Burke in the 1950s and 1960s. Generally speaking, the most popular tuning combinations are the B/C and the and C#/D.
This means that the melody of the tune can be played chromatically. Unlike comparable instruments used in other American and European music genres, the two rows are tuned so that just a semi-tone separates them. The ten-key form of the instrument (the melodeon) is still played in some parts of Ireland, most notably in Connemara, though most Irish musicians prefer the more standard two-row button version or the Button and Piano Accordion. The accordion is an important instrument in Irish Traditional Music, including the ever-popular Ceili style, as is the concertina, and has been since its arrival in the country in the latter half of the nineteenth century.