Bit o'history: though "I Know My Love" had a lengthy history in Ireland, the song was not widely known in the US, as far as I know, until it was introduced around 1950 by Burl Ives. Ives had a special place in his heart for Irish folk songs -- recorded many, and later issued a book of them.

This, "I Know Where I'm Goin'", "I Know My Love," "Gilgarry Mountain" and others were among the raft of traditional songs Ives introduced to Americans through his popular early recordings on Columbia and Decca at a time when these were among the few widely circulated folksong records in the US (along with those of Josh White, John Jacob Niles and one or two other concert artists). He made "I Know Where I'm Goin'" popular, and made it part of the American folk repertoire.

His role in unearthing and circulating traditional songs that had formerly been obscure is scarcely remembered nowadays. Most people think of him only in his later persona as a film actor and country/novelty singer.

Susan Reed was another early popularizer of "I Know My Love" on this side of the water. Apart from the Clancys, most of the later singers mentioned above were considerably in Ives' and Reed's debt. Bob