The Star of Munster

In old Irish song a "star" means a beautiful woman. Francis O'Neill learned this reel in 1876 from James O'Brien, a Mayo piper visiting Chicago, who had sweet little pipes and a habit of stopping mid tune to chat, especially after a few drinks. O'Neill also notes that Kerry piper William Hanafin, born in 1875, learned it as one of his first reels as a boy.

Michael Coleman recorded it in New York in 1922, in the unusual key of G Dorian. Monaghan piper Willie Clarke recorded it in London in 1928. It has been a contra dance favorite in New England since the 1970s.