There is a confusion arising between the tune Princess Royal and the song Princess Royal. The history of whether the original tune Princess Royal/Arethusa was written by Carolan or not is intriguing.
Can anyone give any early citations for the Carolan theory? And, in general, which Princess Royal might we be talking about(which person, Imean, not which tune). And, indeed, why(assuming he did) Carolan would be dedicating a tune to her. I have always found the idea odd, because stylstically a lot of Carolan's attributed tunes hang together, but the Princess Royal(in its many versions) seema to be a bit separate.