Joe Offer,

I understood that the explanation was from the source you mentioned. I'm just wondering how that explanation ( which was also summarized in brief in the DT ) can be squared with the actual words of the song. Hopefully, someone from Dublin who was there during the elder Briscoe's term as Lord Mayor may be able to shed more light on the origin of this song. I couldn't find anything in old forum posts.

Thanks for your thorough look into the Clancys' notes on the subject.

Joe