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MUNSTER CLOAK, THE (An Fhalaingín Mhuimhneach). Irish, Air (3/4 time). D Major (most versions): G Major (Cranford/Holland). Standard tuning. AABB. Sometimes called “The Spanish Cloak.” There is a (rather unlikely) story (attributed to either Sean O’Riada or Paddy Moloney) that the tune was introduced into Ireland by a shipwrecked survivor of the Spanish Armada in the 16th century. Stuart Eydmann notes that a Spanish composer, Enrique Granados (1867-1916) composed a set of ten Danzas españolas for piano (later orchestrated for guitar and orchestra), of which No. 6 is similar to “The Munster/Spanish Cloak.” The dance is characterized as a "rondalla Aragonesa which describes the scene of guitars being strummed in the streets and is in the rhythm of the jota, a dance from Aragon and Valencia.” The composer met his end in World War I when his ship was torpedoed in the English Channel, on his return voyage from an American tour. The melody has been characterized as an air, a mazurka, and even a march—although it fits none of the categories clearly