"Songs which never caught on elsewhere and which none of the Irish, even in the community where they originated, bothered remembering and passing on."
Not necessarily the case, somme did when you add them to the repertoire that did survive
Collecting folksongs was very much a missed opportunity here - that was down to external activities
Songs of immediate interest died when the memory of the incidents fades (as they probably did in Britain) - they were functional songs of the moment ans as such, they would have been overlooked by collectors
The point I am making is that the Irish people have proven themselves more than capable songmakers - why not the British?
Jim Carroll