Speaking off The bould Thady Quill, true enough he did exist, but, he was the direct opposite to the heroic character in the song.
I heard this song discussed on an RTE programme a few years ago, the writer of the song Johnny Tom Gleeson died in 1924, Thady Quill our hero was according to the old people taking part in the discussion, a big shy clumsy man and Gleeson was having a laugh at poor Thady`s expense.