"The Irish Washerwoman" is a traditional jig known to have been played throughout Britain and Ireland and in North America.
[1] According to the "tunearch" website, the earliest appearance is in Robert Petrie's "Collection of Strathspeys Reels and Country Dances" 1790.
[2] A different page on the same website mentions that a version by Neil Gow appeared in 1792 in "A Third Collection of Strathspey Reels".
[3] The second half of the tune is identical to "The Star at Liwis" printed about 1730 in "Caledonian Country Dances" by J Walsh.
[6] This jig was incorporated as the first movement of the Irish Suite, a collection of traditional tunes arranged for orchestra by American composer Leroy Anderson in 1946.