Jig, D, Traditional Irish & English
Also known as Julia Clifford’s; Julia Clifford’s Favourite; Morgan Rattler

The Cordal Jig is one of those chameleon tunes that works nicely to connect tunes in a set, being able to flow from major harmony at its start to minor harmony at its end. This traditional jig takes its name “Cordal” from a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is also known as Julia Clifford’s and Morgan Rattler, and it has found its way into Irish, English, and North American dance traditions.
Recordings
- Video – Bobbi Nikles: Cordal Jig – Cul Augh – Karen Tweed’s – played on fiddle. From the album Fire in the Air
- Video – Comhaltas: Julia Clifford’s – from the album Foinn Seisiún 3
- Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Cordal Jig
Dots (Music Notation)
As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Play from the Dots
Alternative Chords
Here is an alternative version of chords to accompany the tune. (From The Portland Collection, Vol. 2.)
(A Part)
G A | D – | G A | Bm – |
G A | D – | – A | Bm – |
(B Part)
D – | A – | D – | – A |
D – | A – | D – | Bm – |
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- The Cordal Jig / The Rolling Wave (a.k.a. The Humours of Trim; The Rolling Waves)
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- Other Recordings
- Video – Katie Grennan: The Cordal / The Rolling Wave (Jigs) – from the album The Second Story
- Video – Gerry O’Connor: Tom Billy’s Jigs – played on tenor banjo. The set: Old Joe’s / The Cordal /Billy In The Low Ground / The Temperance. Gerry plays The Cordal in Eb in this recording, with his banjo capo on the first fret. The Cordal starts at time 1:40 in the video.
- Lessons
- Lesson – MandoLessons: Cordal Jig – mandolin lesson for mandolin, with video, sheet music, and play-along tracks.
- Lesson – MandoLessons: The Cordal Jig Double Stops and Ornaments (With Tabs) – Mandolin Lesson
- Lesson – François Breugnot: Julia Clifford’s favourite – jig – fiddle technique demonstrated and explained (in French)
- Lessons – Online Academy of Irish Music: Julia Clifford’s Jig – lessons for playing the tune on D tin whistle with variation and ornamentation. (Requires subscription.)
- Books
- Book – The Portland Collection, Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest, Volume 2, by Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
- Book: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes by Stephen Ducke – with audio
- Book – Comhaltas: Foinn Seisiún, Volume 3 – the tune is listed as Julia Clifford’s Favourite
- Other Resources
- Web page – The Session: The Cordal Jig – crowdsourced sheet music and information