Literally thousands of people have recorded this fine, but abominably abused and done-to-death piece.  John Moulden also mentioned that McGarvey, the putative lyricist, died in 1935, a year before the first (known) publication of the Star of the County Down lyric in Herbert Hughes' Irish Country Songs vol 4; Hughes appears not to have known who wrote it.  If McGarvey did write the words, then technically they are still in copyright; however, his authorship may not be certain, and there seems to be no record of his, or his heirs, ever having claimed any rights.  The Mudcat is not a copyright resource, though we're always happy to help people who are also prepared to do some research of their own.  This is such a well-known song that I'm surprised that there should be any worries as to its status, though there is frequently a lot of confusion in peoples' minds as to its age.

Tune: old.

Words and title: recent.

Malcolm