Jim Ward's: A Song History
"Jim Ward's" is an Irish double jig, usually played in G, and it goes by many names, among them "Jimmy Ward's," "Ward's Jig," and the Irish title "An Chéad Phunann."[1][2] The Traditional Tune Archive connects it with Jimmy Ward of Kilfenora, County Clare, a member of the Kilfenora Céilí Band who began on whistle, flute and piccolo before making the banjo his main instrument in the mid-1940s.[1] Whether he composed it is disputed: Mallinson's 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes credits it to Ward, others regard it only as a tune associated with him, and irishtune.info gives him as composer only with a question mark.[1][2] According to the Traditional Tune Archive, it appears under the Irish title in Breandán Breathnach's Tacar Port (1961), and a Willie Clancy performance was issued on Gael Linn's Seoda Ceoil (1968).[1] It has been widely recorded since, by Bobby Casey, Matt Molloy, Danú, Lúnasa and many others.[1][2][3]
Benjamin Bradbury, Banjo, American, ca. 1885. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0). Jimmy Ward later played the banjo; this instrument has no connection to him or the tune.
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