The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher run for about eight kilometres along the Atlantic coast of County Clare and rise to 200 metres. They take their name from Mothar, an old promontory fort that was pulled down during the Napoleonic wars to make way for a signal tower.

R. M. Levey printed the jig in A major in 1873, and Francis O'Neill printed it in G in 1903, both in forms some way from the one played now. O'Neill learned it from Patrick "Big Pat" O'Mahony, a west Clare flute player in the Chicago police, who liked to play with his chair tipped back against the wall and both feet swinging in time. Modern sessions play it in A dorian.