[PW] Date of lyrics: 'The Irish Rover'

[Peter Macinnis]

I am out of my depth.  I am the querent.

I have been trying without success to establish a date for early 
performance of the *words* of this song -- I refer to the one which has 
for one verse a bill of lading which includes "We had one million bags 
of the best Sligo rags . . ."

It would help to know if it is older than 1859, but that was the year in 
which British music halls began to flourish and I suspect that it might 
have been a music hall number -- it is variously listed as traditional 
or by Joseph Crofts (active in 1920).

It would appear that Warner Music claim copyright to at least some 
portion of it (perhaps an arrangement), but it is the words I am 
interested in.  Crofts appears to have collected as well as arranged, 
and is occasionally credited as a composer, but never as a lyricist, so 
far as I can see.

Wikipedia says it is traditional.

We have had that debate.

peter

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