Irish Washerwoman

About Irish Washerwoman:

Irish Washerwoman according to Traditional Tune Archive

Although the tune has popularly been known as an old, and perhaps quintessential Irish jig, it has been proposed by some writers to have been an English country dance tune that was published in the 17th century and probably known in the late 16th century. Samuel Bayard (1981), for example, concludes it probably was English in origin rather than Irish, being derived from the air called “Dargason,” or “Sedany” as it is sometimes called. Fuld (1966) disagrees, believing “Dargason” (which he gives under the title “Scotch Bagpipe Melody”) and “The Irish Washerwoman” developed independently. “Dargason” was first printed in Ravenscroft’s Pammelia (1609) and appears in the Playford’s Dancing Master editions from 1651 to 1690, but subsequently the “folk process” melded the strain to other parts, thus making other tunes (see “Green Garters (3)” for example) including the precursors to the Washerwoman tune. One of these precursors was the English tune “Country Courtship (The),” which dates from at least 1715 and probably to 1688, in which latter mentioned year it was first entered at Stationers’ Hall. “The Irish Washerwoman” appears to have developed from “Country Courtship (The),” which was extremely popular in the 19th century, as the tune under the “Washerwoman” title was to become a little later. The ending of the jig is the same as the endings of “In Bartholemew Fair” and “Free Masons (1).” Breathnach (1976) finds the second part identical to that of “Star at Liwis or Scheme (The)” printed by London publisher J. Walsh in Caledonian Country Dances (c. 1730, p. 59). The melody was found by the author of English Folk-Song and Dance (p. 144) in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Churt and Thursley in Surrey), who used, in his younger days, to play at village dances. Tilbury learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond, who died around 1870 and who was the village fiddler before him. The conclusion was that “Haste to the Wedding” and melodies of similar type survived in English tradition (at least in southwest Surrey) well into the second half of the 19th century. Multi-instrumentalist John Rook (Waverton, Cumbria), for example, entered it into his large 1840 music manuscript collection. The jig is played very fast as an accompaniment for Northumbrian rapper sword dancing.