I agree, mysha. My problem, I suppose, is that my instinct is telling me that the song may have originated in America and moved back to Ireland rather than the other way round. Which makes the "Malchasene" harder to explain.

I'm not really sure why I suspect American origins. Perhaps it just seems odd to me that there is no trace of it in the 19C. literature (books and broadsheets) on this side of the pond, as far as I know. This is why I would really love to know something about Dean's sources (fascinating book, BTW).

As of now, my best guess is that the song was written in America by a recently arrived Irishman!

Regards