The Cliffs Of Moher
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The Cliffs Of Moher 32 bar reel for three couples in a four couple longwise set, Murrough Landon, 2022.1- 4 1st couple cross giving left hands. They then cast off one place and end on the centre line, 1st man above 1st woman, as 2nd couple step up.
5- 8 1st man with 2nd couple, also 1st woman with 3rd couple, dance right hands across. 1st couple pass each other right shoulder and, with an optional twirl, end back to back facing their 1st corner.
9-16 1st couple dance "hello goodbye" setting with their 1st and 2nd corners and end on the 1st diagonal facing their 3rd corner.
17-20 1st couple turn their 3rd corner with the right hand and end passing their partner right shoulder on the 2nd diagonal facing opposite sides. The corners dance for 4 bars.
21-24 All dance half a reel of three on the sides. 1st couple starting by passing their 1st corner right shoulder and pass their partner right shoulder to end on the 2nd diagonal facing their 4th corner position (now occupied by their 3rd corner person).
25-28 1st couple turn their 4th corner (occupied by 3rd corner person) with the left hand and end passing their partner left shoulder on the 1st diagonal facing opposite sides. The corners dance for 4 bars.
29-32 All dance half a reel of three on the sides. 1st couple starting by passing their 2nd corner (now occupied by their 1st corner person) left shoulder and pass their partner left shoulder to end in 2nd place own sides. The final order is 2,1,3.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA February 2022)
Dance Notes
Some additional, very useful dance information may be found on the original crib. See link below.Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
The Cliffs Of Moher - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This is for Steve Oakes, an enthusiastic member of the Gay Gordons group in London.Early in 2022 he had to spend a few months away helping to make a film set near the Cliffs of Moher in county Clare, Ireland. This dance was written to entice him back.
Steve's pas de basque style is quite energetic and he likes twirls and wide loops. All those are exhibited here.
Recommended Music: Thorp Haywood's Hornpipe (Traditional).
Recording: Forever Friends (Ian Muir and the Craigellachie Band: The Blackwater Collection).
(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA February 2022)
The Cliffs of Moher are located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. These sea cliffs stretch for about 14 kilometers (9 miles) and are a prominent natural feature of the area.
At Hag's Head, the southern end of the cliffs, they rise 120 meters (390 feet) above the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 feet) just north of O'Brien's Tower, a stone tower built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O'Brien. The cliffs then continue north at lower heights. The closest villages to the cliffs are Liscannor, 6 kilometers (4 miles) to the south, and Doolin, 7 kilometers (4 miles) to the north.
From the Cliffs of Moher and O'Brien's Tower, visitors can see several notable landmarks: the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, the Maumturks and Twelve Pins mountain ranges in County Galway to the north, and Loop Head to the south. These cliffs are one of Ireland's most visited tourist sites, attracting approximately 1.5 million visitors each year.
The name "Cliffs of Moher" originates from a former promontory fort called Mothar or Moher, which was situated on Hag's Head, the cliffs' southernmost point. This location is now occupied by Moher Tower. The fort was referenced by writer Thomas Johnson Westropp in 1905 as Moher Uí Ruis or Moher Uí Ruidhin. The fort was still standing in 1780 and mentioned in John Lloyd's account, "A Short Tour of Clare" (1780). It was demolished in 1808 to construct a lookout/telegraph tower, which was intended to provide warnings in case of a French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Cliffs of Moher have been featured in various media, especially in films. They served as the filming location for "The Cliffs of Insanity" in "The Princess Bride" (1987), appeared in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009), and were showcased in "Leap Year" (2010) and "Irish Wish" (2024).
In addition to these films, the cliffs are mentioned in Martin Scorsese's film "Bringing Out the Dead" (1999). They are also highlighted in the 2008 documentary "Waveriders" as the site of a large surfing wave known as "Aileens".
Looking North Along The Cliffs Towards O'Brien's Tower
Published in The Cliffs Of Moher, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Cliffs of Moher article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, Creative Commons Licence 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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