I think I mentioned in another Mudcat thread that Paul started singing "Arthur McBride" when he lived in New York... about 1973. The Irish Arts Center had a session then at Munk's Park Pub on Park Avenue South. He was always being asked to sing it and, when he did, people would come flying up and down stairs - almost from the other side of town.

It's probably not generally known that the variant he sings is from a book of Maine (USA) folk songs.

He left New York to become a member of Planxty. I drove him to get some of his things from storage and he told me that was about to happen. A few months later, I flew to Edinburgh where the 5-member Planxty (Paul took Christy's place and Christy had not yet left) was performing. He sang it as a solo piece and the group said, when they first heard his rendition, they just forgot about their earlier version.

The blue album was just about to be released at that time. The group had a test pressing and it was played for them backstage. Paul fell in love with "The Lakes of Ponchartrain" right away.

All the best,
Dan Milner