The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #24259   Message #3055491
Posted By: Jim Dixon
17-Dec-10 - 08:25 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Sweet Connlough Bay? / ...Carnlough Bay
Subject: RE: Origins: Sweet Connlough Bay? / ...Carnlough Bay
The oldest copy I can find of this song is in Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Vol. 3-4 (Dublin: Irish Folk Song Society, 1904?*), page 31.

I can't see the whole thing since it is classified as "snippet view" by Google Books due to copyright restrictions, but I can see this much:

2. Says I, "My wee lassie, I canna weel tell you
The number of miles or how far it may be.
But if you'll consent I'll convoy [sic?] you a wee bit
And show you the road to sweet Carnlough Bay.

* I'm not sure that the 1904 date corresponds to the particular volume that contains the song. It might be the date the Journal began. That would put the date of the volume around 1907.

Anyway, this is a older than O'Lochlainn's Irish Street Ballads (1939) which was mentioned earlier as a possible first printing.