Seamus Ennis' back-catalogue is a bit convoluted, so I missed an earlier reference first time around. He also recorded the melody on The Bonny Bunch of Roses (Tradition TLP 1013, 1959), which later re-emerged, reissued under license under various titles (I have it, for instance, as Visit to Ireland volume three) but generally without any notes that may have accompanied the original issue. An ambiguous note on Peter Kennedy's website suggests either that Ennis was aware of the Sam Lover connection and just didn't mention it on The Pure Drop, or else found out about it later.