Tom

Just to add - Malcolm was one of the most knowledgeable posters in this forum (he edited, along with Steve Gardham, the new edition of Marrow Bones) and if he chose not to add anything in his post, it's because he thought it had already been covered adequately in the posts above and in the (more recent) thread that he linked in his post.

As regards the chronology you imply for the song, if Jon Bartlett's quote from the Ulster Journal of Archaeology is correct, the castle stood from 1664 to 1761 - not the 7 years you said - and it was removed because it had fallen into disrepair - not because it had to be sold as a price for getting back occupied land.

When it came to commenting on British folk song the one thing Malcolm didn't need was luck; he had scholarship instead.

Mick