As Jim Carroll said earlier in this thread, the version of Valentine O'Hara / Alan Tyne o' Harrow that everybody (in both Britain and Ireland) sings these days is derived from Ewan MacColl's. If you look at the texts it's clear that he adapted it from Allan Tine o' Harrow which was printed in at least six different Scottish chapbooks. He made various alterations, most notably cutting it down from twelve stanzas to eight. He also improved the scansion in places to make it more singable. I'm not sure why he changed 'great Hector ne’er was bolder' to 'no sergeant-at-arms was bolder' which doesn't occur in any of the editions of the chapbook that I've seen.

But does anyone know where MacColl found the text he based it on? Would he have owned a copy? Or found it in a library? If so which? Can Jim or any other former member of the Critics Group throw any light?