Don, I know Tommy, and he's a truly decent man.
I have recorded a few of his songs and send him royalties.
I also do this with any author/publishers I can track down.
When I come back from Alaska, I'll give you Tommy's phone number and you can call him yourself and ask him if he wrote the song you want to record. That's what I do. I thought he wrote Red Is The Rose, and he told me that he didn't.
Sometimes the recording companies claimed authorship/arranging rights without the artists' knowledge, so they could make a few extra bucks.
I don't believe that Tommy would claim a song he didn't write.
He wrote new lyrics for the Enniskillen Dragoon, which a few performers have recorded as Traditional.
Kendall, ol' buddy, the royalty rate is up to 8 cents now, so start writing!
Pat Cooksey, thanks for the great song and the kind words.

Seamus