http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~harringtonfamilies/1847.htm
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~harringtonfamilies/1847.htm

This is interesting..not the newspaper article I was looking for, but an obituary pge that lists the same deaths listed in the book by O'Rourke I think...

So what I think happened is this story, which seems to be based on coronor's inquests in County Mayo, was printed in newspapers in US, and someone..the author..I forget her name...Amelia Edwards?? must have seen it or heard about it, composed the poem, published it in 1848, and someone put a tune to it..a fairly tuneless tune I must say...if someone can think of another tune it could be put to..usually I don't like doing that but might have to be done...mg