Sir Charles Duffy has recorded his early
recollection of a rude ballad of this description, at the singing
of which he saw a whole dinner company dissolved in tears, and
in which the warm-hearted reception given by Belfast to Wolfe
Tone and the Catholic envoys of 1793 on their way to plead
for the freedom of their faith was thus spoken of :

The Lord in His mercy be kind to Belfast:
The poor Irish exile she soothed as he passed.

Many such things there must have been, many more than
ever found their way into print, and many which were printed
as ¦ ballad sheets and are now lost for ever.


You wonder if Craig ever did find the source of that phrase or not. He certainly liked it enough to use it himself.

Good luck with your search.