"The Galway Shawl" is a traditional Irish

Music of Ireland

Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...

 folk song

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

, concerning a rural courtship in the West of Ireland. The first known version was collected by Sam Henry

Sam Henry (musicologist)

Sam Henry was an Irish folk-song collector, photographer and folklorest, best known for his collection of ballads and songs in Songs of the People...

 from Bridget Kealey in Dungiven

Dungiven

Dungiven is a small town and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the main A6 Belfast to Derry road. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the Benbradagh. Nearby is the Glenshane Pass, where the road rises to over...

 in 1936. The song has been popularly recorded by many ballad groups in Ireland and is now commonly adapted to a waltz time so that people can dance to it.

Recordings

• Four to the Bar
  Four to the Bar
  Four to the Bar was an Irish band in New York City during the early to mid 1990s.From its beginnings as one more hard-drinking pub band from the boroughs, it ventured into a neotraditional fusion of pop, rock, and Irish and American folk....
  
   on their live album Craic on the Road
  Craic on the Road (album)
  Craic on the Road: Live at Sam Maguire's was the first full-length album by Four to the Bar, released in 1994.- Track listing :#I'll Tell Me Ma #Waxie's Dargle/The Rare Old Mountain Dew #My Love's in Germany...
  
  , in a medley with "The Black Velvet Band
  The Black Velvet Band
  "The Black Velvet Band" is a traditional English and Irish folk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment in 19th century Britain and Ireland. The song tells the story of a tradesman who meets a young woman who has stolen an item and passed it on to him...
  
  " and "The Wild Rover
  The Wild Rover
  The Wild Rover is a popular folk song whose origins are contested.According to Professor T. M. Devine in his book The Scottish Nation 1700 - 2000 the song was written as a temperance song. The song is found printed in a book, The American Songster, printed in the USA by W.A...
  
  ".
• Ryan's Fancy
  Ryan's Fancy
  Ryan’s Fancy was a musical group active from the 1960s until the 1980s, all three of whose members were Irish immigrants to Canada.-Early years:...
  
   on their album Irish Love Songs.
• Patrick Street
  Patrick Street
  Patrick Street is an Irish folk group.The band was formed in Dublin in 1986 with Kevin Burke on fiddle, Jackie Daly on button accordion, Andy Irvine on bouzouki and vocals, and Arty McGlynn on guitar...
  
   on their album On the Fly.
• Liz Madden recorded a new version on her 2010 album My Irish Home.