For the record; the facts surrounding 'Are You Right There Michael' as follows.
French was not sued, but rather it was he who sued the railway authorities for making him late for an appointment - and won.
The incident still causes bad feeling down in Moyaster, where the railway is commemorated.
These are notes I made on the incident for a talk on song and history.
Jim Carroll

On July 2nd 1887 a steam railway was opened here in West Clare, the first sod of the construction being turned by Charles Stewart Parnell using a silver spade which is still on view at the DeValera Museum. Running between Ennis and Kilrush, the railway provided a vital service to those living along its rout and employed around 70 people from Ennis alone. The complete journey took around three hours and the railway ran successfully up to World War II when the development of new roads began to affect its usage. Despite decisions to close it, it continued to run at a loss up to January 31st 1961, when it finally closed down forever.
On 10th August 1896, songwriter and entertainer Percy French set out from Dublin to attend a concert he was due to give at 8 0-clock that evening in Kilkee. He boarded the West Clare train at Ennis, which left on time but, due to technical problems was delayed here at Miltown Malbay, resulting in his being 20 minutes late for his concert. French successfully sued the owners of The West Clare Railway and was awarded £10 and expenses. He wrote the song "Are You Right There Michael", presumably as an act of revenge. Despite the popularity of the song, or perhaps because of it, the affair is still capable of provoking bitter feelings.
There were three or four songs written about The West Clare Railway apart from French's; this is one we recorded from Michael "Straighty" Flanagan of Inagh, during a singing session in Marrianan's 25 years ago.