Sminky...I thought you might come back with that line of doubt, so will only say that you are free to believe what you like, but the truth is there for all to see, should they wish to. As was quoted in an earlier post, Behans biographer Sullivan, said that Brendan demanded that any royalties should go to Dickie Shannon, as he wrote the song. That is not hearsay, but hard evidence gathered by Sullivan, otherwise i doubt he would have printed it. So obviously the proof is there somewhere? This was also confirmed in the same post, that someone else in a position to know, had received the proof of authorship from Brendan. Exactly how one would go about gathering such evidence, hearsay or otherwise, would i imagine be very difficult at this stage of the game? But if anyone benefited from it's popularity, it certainly wasn't Dickie or his family. Most of his children ended up in care, due to the dire poverty they were living in. Further, I should imagine that Brendans estate have been the main financial beneficieries. But as i stated in another post, Dickie would never have been aware of song rights or royalties, and he most certainly could never have afforded a lawyer to do it for him. He wrote it for a friend and the song is now a part of Irish tradition, which Dickie would have loved. He deserves his due for that at least!!! It's a shame that others don't want to give it to him, even after almost 60 years...

As a bynote...Please understand the point of my posts. It is not my intention to try and garner any financial advantage from Dickies song, but to try and get the credit placed where it truly belongs...With Richard Patrick Shannon (1916-1975), of Wellington Street, Dublin. Yes! A tramp, a drinker, a gambler and a rogue, but never a liar! Dickie detested liars above all else. He always said "a robber was honest when compared to a liar. A liar was the lowest of the low, as they would get you hanged for nothing more than malice"! Besides, Brendan freely admitted who the writer of the song was, not something he would readily have done had it been otherwise, so that should be good enough for both you and Bert Jansch in my humble opinion. If it is not, then so be it!? As for Dominic trying to claim any form of authorship, he should and probably did have knowledge of the songs true author, but it would hardly have been to his advantage to let it be known, would it? He freely plagiarized others work for his own benefit, so why should this be any different?? So less said is probably soonest mended on that score. The upshot of all this hearsay evidence as you choose to call it, is that it is still evidence that Dicky gave Brendan the song. Until some actual contrary proof is unearthed, then we are stuck with the only evidence available to us, hearsay or not??