The Morning Star was one of several tunes used for the Bledington sidestep dance. The B music, bars 9-16, begins with a long sidestep. The 2nd half of the B music is taken up with a half hey [half figure of 8]. This is then repeated.

Peter Kennedy, published Morning Star (1), while Thomas Hampton’s tunes include The Morning Star. Both these versions show some variation compared to C Benfield’s tune. O’Neill published an Irish reel with the same name (2). He may well have obtained the tune from Patrick J Touhey, whom he acknowledges as a source of tunes. His versions of Steam Packet and Morning Star can be heard on Utube (3).

References

(1) Kennedy, Peter The Fiddler’s Tunebook, 1955 Oxford UP, tune no. 30.
(2) O’Neill, Francis, 1001 Gems The Dance Music of Ireland, Dublin, Walton, tune no. 475.
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=farsgG

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Note by Charles Menteith