Tune of the Day: The Blarney Pilgrim
This jig is found in the Stanford/Petrie manuscript The Complete Collection of Irish Music (London, 1902), under the title “The Parish Girl”. Francis O'Neill also included the same melody as “The Blarney Pilgrim” in his collection Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1903).
“The Blarney Pilgrim” was one of the tunes played by the band in the scene of the Irish dancers in steerage in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic.
The title is a reference to the Blarney Stone, a block of limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, located near Cork City, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). Interestingly, since the stone is embedded in the wall of the castle, it can only be reached by being dangled out of a window.