Sunday 13 October 2024
Tune of the Day: The Mooncoin Jig
Traditional Irish jig
The earliest appearance of this jig is found in Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1903), but the tune is related to an English/Scottish melody known as “The Major”, dating back to the mid-18th century.
Mooncoin is a town in County Kilkenny in the southeast of Ireland, an area famous in the 19th century and early 20th century for its pipers. The town's curious name derives from an anglicized version of the Irish “Móin Choinn”, which means “Coyne's Bogland”.