The Girls Of Banbridge jig

The attribution for this tune is Francis O’Neill: "Dance Music of Ireland", no. 83. I can’t confirm this since I don’t have that book.

Peter

Lesl H once told me the Welsh name - "Gwynt Y Glan" - translated as "The White Wave", but I can’t confirm that.

I used to speak Welsh, but have lost it, sadly. But I would have said that "Gwynt-y-Glan" meant "The Shore Wind". Let’s have some Welsh speakers sort it out for us …

Ben’s translation seems to make sense. ‘Glan’ can be translated as ‘shore’, ‘bank’ or ‘side’ (glan y mor - seashore or seaside, glan yr afon - riverside or riverbank), but ‘shore’ seems the most likely.

‘Y Don Wen’ would be ‘The White Wave’, if my Welsh serves me correctly. I’m not a fully-fledged speaker, but I attend regular classes.

This version is 3rd of a set of four jigs as played by Paul Kelly on "A Mandolin Album". The set is called Des Carty’s Jigs
and I have transcribed them all and added them to thesession


X: 1
T: Girls Of Banbridge, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|:E|DGB d2e|dBG g2e|dBG DGB|cBc AGE|
DGB d2e|dBG gfg|dBG DGB|AGF G2:|
|:D|GBd g2g|agf efg|dBG DGB|cBc AGF|
GBd g2g|agf efg|dBG DGB|AGF G2

X:3 is from the fiddling of Johnnie Wilmot, his 1960s recording may be heard on the CD Another Side of Cape Breton. It was the 2nd tune in a medley with the blanket title "The Baddeck Gathering," his 1st tune is here: https://thesession.org/tunes/10243

Wilmot played as much Irish music as Scottish and his setting is a nice variant on that from O’Neill’s. His 3rd part is especially so, an easy way to have a tune to practice shifting positions on the violin; it’s also a snap on the flute or pipes.

This is a plain version of Gwynt y Glan as played in west Wales. I learned it from flute player Jonathan Shorland who was then living in Aberystwyth. I seem to remember thet he in turn got it from fiddler Dave Hamilton. It first appears in print in Nicholas Bennett’s collection Alawon fy Ngwlad, 1896. Gwynt y Glan means the Shore Breeze, or the Windy Shore. It’s usually played in a set with Deildy Aberteifi in G, Hafotty Dafydd Owain, Gwynt y Glan, & sometimes followed by Stephen Rees’ tune, Mynydd yr Heliwr in Edor

Just dug out O’Neills 1001 Gems and indeed it is Double Jig No 83. Ware teg i di Ceri.

I was going to reply to this till I realised it was "The Girls of Banbridge", not "The Girls of Bondage", as I originally thought.

David

A few variations on the Cape Breton setting.