This is one of those songs which has so many variants that it is hard to tell what is just a different version of a particular song, or what is a fragment of it, or what represents a 'different ' song altogether. The song was widespread in the 19th century, but it took on a lot of local "colourings", as can be seen by the number of ballad sheets just in the Bodleian alone. "The Irish girl" and "The New Irish Girl" 1) Ballad sheet: printed by W. McCall, Liverpool, between 1857 & 1877 The Irish Girl (McCall #1) The Irish Girl (McCall #2) 2) Ballad sheet: printed by T.Hogget, Durham, between 1816 & 1843 The Irish Girl (Hogget #1) The Irish Girl (Hogget #2) 3) Ballad sheet: printed by Wm. Armstrong, Liverpool, between 1820 & 1824 The Irish Girl (Armstrong #1) The Irish Girl (Armstrong #2) 4) Ballad sheet: printed by W. Stephenson, Gateshead, between 1821 & 1838 The Irish Girl (Stephenson) 5)Ballad sheet: printed by J.Evans, London, between 1780 & 1812 The Irish Girl (Evans) 6) Ballad sheet: printed by J.Catnach and others, London, between 1813 & 1838 The Irish Girl (Catnach) 7) Ballad sheet: no imprint, no date, (only partially legible) The Irish Girl (n.a.) 8) Ballad sheet: printed by J. Harkness, Preston, between 1840 & 1868 The Irish Girl (Harkness) 9) Ballad sheet: no imprint, no date The Irish Girl (undated) 10) Ballad sheet: printed by J.Lindsay, Glasgow, between 1851 & 1910 The Irish Girl (Lindsay) 11) Ballad sheet: printed by W. Carse, Glasgow, c. 1825 The Irish Girl (Carse 12) Ballad sheet: Printed by T. Batchelar, London, between 1817 & 1828 The Irish Girl (Batchelar) 13) Ballad sheet; Utterly illegible (!) The Irish Girl (Illegible) 14) Ballad sheet: Printed by H. Such, London, 1849 - 1864 The New Irish Girl (Such #1) The New Irish Girl (Such #2) 15) Ballad sheet; Printed by J.Pitts, London, between 1819 & 1844 The New Irish Girl (Pitts #1) The New Irish Girl (Pitts #2) The New Irish Girl (Pitts #3) The New Irish Girl (Pitts #4) The New Irish Girl (Pitts #5)
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