Mick, I appreciate the different traditions, and the fact that there's a lot more singing at normal gatherings, parties etc than you get in England, but the Irish definitely DO "claim" many of these songs...

Fiddler's Green Link 1

Fiddler's Green Link 2

Fiddler's Green Link 3

Just 3 links from many to "Fiddler's Green", for example, all claiming it as "Irish".

I was almost attacked by an Irish mando player in a pub recently who'd just played it and was very vocal about "I only ever play trad Irish tunes" when I pointed out that it was written by a bloke from Grimsby (Irish name but at least 4 generations born and raised there) who is still alive and performing. He simply wouldn't believe that it wasn't "Trad Irish" as he'd heard it so much over there, and seen it listed in Irish songbooks and websites.