Nancy,

It's a fine tune, even hosting a parody of it's original fine lyrics (and that's always a good sign!)

To the west of Bob Bolton's part of Australia, over the Blue Mountains, we often used Maire's Wedding as part of the old safe D-G-D mix, such as in:

Maire's Wedding (D) Siege Of Ennis (G) Rose Tree (D)

Australian bush bands of the 70's and 80's cut their teeth on such tunes, happily ignorant of both the questionable cross-celtic mix and the audience's silent plea for an occasional tune in a minor key (not to mention our lack of awareness of the many excellent Australian tunes being played at the time by more adventurous musicians such as Mr Bolton)

Of course, it is possible to play Maire's Wedding throughout a complete dance set, raising the key by a fifth each time around. This tactic annoys the heck out of box players, such as Mr Bolton, so is not recommended for general use. But it works a treat if you want to sing "Please Release Me" at a party.

Bruce