Thursday 24 November 2022
Tune of the Day: The Cliffs of Moher
Traditional Irish jig
The first known appearance of this tune in print is in R.M. Levey's second collection of The Dance Music of Ireland, published in London in 1873. The earliest versions of the jig were apparently in major mode, but today the tune is most often played in A Dorian.
The Cliffs of Moher are sea cliffs on the Atlantic coast in County Clare, Ireland. They run for about 9 miles, reaching an impressive maximum height of 214 meters. They take their name from a ruined promontory fort, Mothar, which was demolished in 1808 to provide material for a lookout/telegraph tower intended to provide warning in case of a French invasion during the Napoleonic wars.