Carl
This one won't play like Alison's but if you get hold of a copy of ABC and load this into it it will give you the sheet music as it is in the Furey's song book, twiddly bits as well.
Here is the intro to Finbar Furey's Lonesome Boatman
It is played with a very free timing. The time signature in the ABC file is only there because the program demands one.
Don't bother trying to play the tune as an ABC tune (I know you will) it will sound just like Morse code. The lack of bar lines and musical sense makes it impossible (undertandably) to translate it to a midifile from the ABC file.
If you print it as it stands it will come out looking like the sheet music (strange with very few bar lines). But if you take it bit by bit you should finish up playing a very acceptable version of Finbar's beautiful tune (I can't but my wife can).
One word of advice get an early as possible recording of this as Finbar subjects his own tune to the folk process and over the years (he wrote it when he was 19) has added numerous trills and slides!
As you can imagine it took some time to produce just the intro. However, if it will be of use to your student let me know and I will transcribe the rest.

The four long notes in Bar 1 should be played as one long note sliding from one to the other in pitch. Ditto the first 4 in line 5 and the last 3 notes in line 9.

X: 1
T:LONESOME BOATMAN
M:8/4
L:1/8
K:D
"Bm slow intro Free time"{e}(f8e4^e4)f8z/2|(f4g4{=e}f8)z/2|!
"quickly"
{=e/2f/2}.e({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)z|!
({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)z{e}-e {f}AB8z|!
"D"(3B/2c/2e/2) .d/2.d/2.d/2 d8z/2"A"c6{d/2(c/2}B)z2{c/B/(A/}"F#m"F8)|!
"Bm"({e}f8e2f4g4)~e8z|({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)|!
({e/2f/2}.e)z/({e/2f/2}.e)({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}.e)|!
z({e/2f/2}.e)z({e/2f/2}e2){.e}e4{f}A2B8z|!
"D"{^d}e8 (e/4f/4e/4d/4 c/4d/4c/4e/4)(3.d.d.d (3.d.d.d {e} d8{(3e/d/c/}d8|!
({e}"quickly"(f/4e/4d/4c/4 d/4e/4d/4c/4B/4)z/|"F#m"(B/.c2)(c4^B4c8)z|!
"normal tempo: faster than intro "{^E}F6 z {^A}B|"Bm"(^A}B8-|"End of Intro"B8||

% Output from ABC2Win Version 2.1 f on 22/04/98

Regards Baz