The Star of the County Down

The Star of the County Down is a very popular Irish song. County Down is in Ulster, and the star of the county is a sweet colleen, a young woman. The tune used for the song is My Love Nell, and is related to many other tunes, including the Scottish Gilderoy and The Banks of Sweet Dundee.

Under its Star title, it is played as an air, a waltz, a march, and even a jig (see here). Another development of the tune can be found in the Irish jig The Orphan. This is a tune which, if you started playing it in a pub session, a lot of people will recognise it and join in.

Below the tune are a couple of alternative bars (click here) - you could use them on the repeat of the B part.

Star of the County Down