Jim,
You're the first person I've come across who's a bigger skeptic than me. I'm suitably impressed. We've come to this point before. By the way I don't suppose it makes any difference to you, but I was quoting Malcolm Douglas in post 99. I don't think anyone else on Mudcat would have been brave enough to contradict Malcolm, but then you are a one-off, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. I didn't intend to be patronising earlier on, I was being genuine.

In deference to you I will append all my future posts with IMO.

Unless you have anything new to add I think we can stop boring others with our little disagreement now. I would be pleased to continue if you can come at it from a different angle. It intrigues me because you are the first and only person to present such an argument to me. I was already fully aware of the situation in rural Ireland in the early years of the 20th century as I've spent many happy hours in Merrion Square at ITMA. I even have some of the copies of the Irish broadsides you refer to, but to relate rural Ireland of the 20th cen tury to early nineteenth century England is pushing things rather a lot.



IMO.