"WOULD give the song a claim to irishness after all?"
Doesn't need Ronnie Drew for either of them.
Both have been part of the Irish song tradition for at least a century.
One of the finest versions of 'Rover'IMO was recorded from Pat Usher of County Louth, brother of Mary Anne Carolan, one of Ireland's finest traditional singers - far superior to the one belted out at rugby clubs or in the pub at last orders.
Jim Carroll