Health to the Ladies

Jig, A, traditional Irish
Also known as: An Irishman’s Heart To The Ladies; Sweet Biddy Daly
TrailJams Tune of the Week: July 26, 2026

Bright and buoyant, Health to the Ladies is full to the brim with good cheer. Rising up in the key of A major, it makes joyful addition to a set of tunes.

Recordings

• Video – Alex Sturbaum: Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies / Hills of Glenorchy / When the Cock Crows It Is Day (feat. Vienna Scheyer) – fiddle (Vienna Scheyer) with guitar backing (Alex Sturbaum)
• Video – Comhaltas: Health to the Ladies – from the album Foinn Seisiún 2: Traditional Irish Session Tunes
• Audio – Betsy Branch, Clyde Curley, Susan Songer: Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies / Mug of Brown Ale – from the album A Portland Play Along Selection 2

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Rose Jig Set: The Rose in the Heather (D) / The Orphan (E Dorian) / Health to the Ladies (A)
• Health to the Ladies / The Rollicking Boys of Tandragee

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Video – Liz Faiella: Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies – fiddle with backing and second-fiddle harmony.
  • Video – Ashley Ashworth: Hardiman’s Fancy / Saddle the Pony / Health to the Ladies – button accordion with guitar backing. From the album Beyond the Green. (Health to the Ladies starts at time 1:55 in this recording.)
  • Video – The Whistler: Health to the Ladies (Jig) – solo tin whistle
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): A Health to the Ladies (jig) – played in on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 2 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
  • Book & audio – Grey Larsen: 300 Gems of Irish Music for All Instruments
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes (The tune is in the key of G in this book.)
  • Book – The Portland Collection, Volume 1 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest. By Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Liz Faiella: How to Play Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies – video fiddle lesson. Taught phrase-by-phrase.
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies [Jig] – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – video lesson on flute. Played on fiddle (Katie McNally) and flute (Shannon Heaton), then broken down phrase-by-phrase.
  • Lesson – Patti Kusturok (Fiddlevideo): Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies – video fiddle lesson excerpt. Full lesson requires subscription to Fidddle
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: Health To The Ladies (Jig) – crowdsourced transcriptions, comments, and more