Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1756 (Shandon Bells)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Double jig32AABBD Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Shandon Bells
 about these two bars

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording LR 1 (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Shandon Bells / Punch for the Ladies (mislabeled as The Walls of Limerick on the original issue of the recording on LR 1)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd Discography

Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.

Year
Recorded
Track
#Tune
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
~194823#1[LR 1] Leo Rowsome. Classics of Irish Piping. Leo Rowsome (pipes).View album details
19924#1[BMu 2] Brendan Mulvihill, Donna Long. The Morning Dew. Brendan Mulvihill (fiddle), Donna Long (piano).View album details
~199614#1[JCt 2] John Carty. Last Night's Fun. John Carty (fiddle, banjo, flute).View album details
~20022#1[BRny 2] Brian Rooney. Leitrim to London. Brian Rooney (fiddle, accordion).View album details

Bibliography

Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

As tune #814 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #1 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
On page 27 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As jig #116 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #29 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. [available]

If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903