Thomond Bridge (hornpipe) on The Session

Also known as Cuckoo, Lady Hartwell Of Cantwell, Lady Hartwell Of Cantwell’s Clog, Thomand Bridge, Tolman Bridge.

Fourteen comments

Requested by Slainte

I got this from Leo Ginley ,A great Belfast fiddle player some 25 Years ago.I just hope the usual`typical James Hill flat-keyed Hornpipe`comments don`t weigh in -its Irish!!

Thomond Bridge

Thanks Michael, but F major isn’t the key for flautists including me!

I came to love this tune through the fiddle and low whistle duet playing of well-known Scottish piper and fiddler Iain MacDonald and Iain MacFarlane: they couple it with James Hill’s composition "The Steamboat." It’s also on the quite recent debut album of Hugh and Colm Healy from Corofin. They play it in G major and then move on to "Fox on the Town," a beautiful reel in the same key. Sean Smyth recorded it on the whistle, but I don’t remember in which key he plays it.

It seems Thomond Bridge is in Limerick.

Seamus Ennis played this on the pipes, in G. Instead of the ascending arpeggios of straight eighth notes in the first part, he played a triplet and a quarter note= Ceg(3) c; bdg(3) b, etc. This was to facilitate getting from the high C back down to the low B.
Seamus played the regulators all over this tune too. Show off! I also heard a recording of Tommy Reck playing it in duet with Mick O’Brien, so it must have been a popular tune with the old Dublin pipers.

Donncha Ó Briain, whistle ~ in G Major

A superb recording and long overdo for re-release. Does anyone have any strings they can pull, influence to sway? There is a fine G Major transcription taken from his playing in:

"Irish Tin Whistle Legends" page 37
Tommy Walsh, Walton’s, Dublin

“Thomond Bridge” revisited ~

Two other keys and takes on this lovely hornpipe:

https://thesession.org/tunes/4589

POOF! ~ the previous link is no more…

It has been decided on high that the versions I’d posted of this tune recently were not sufficiently different to warrant their own space, so, as promised, here they come, under ‘Comments’.

POOF! ~ “Thomond Bridge” ~ G Major

POOF! ~ “Thomond Bridge” ~ D Major

I’ve been forgetting about this tune. Thanks for reminding me. I’ll learn it in D.

Thomond Bridge

See Roche collection

This tune was popularized by the Aughrim Slopes Ceili Band. Button accordionist John Bowe recorded a great version as well (in ‘D’). The original ‘F’ setting was published as "Thomond Bridge" in the Roche collection, but the tune may well be from Scotland or Northumbria originally. It was recorded in Cape Breton Island by Dan R. MacDonald, who called it "Lady Hartwell of Cantwell." I don’t know the source of that title.