The Festival people seem to know about WPM and MO'C in great detail. They know, for example, that "Mary was very beautiful; she had long dark hair and soft, shining eyes." What's more, "It wasn't long before William met his sister's new nursemaid. As soon as he saw Mary he was transfixed by her eyes, her grace, her long dark hair and delicate skin."

But they don't seem to know (or perhaps care) that E. Mordaunt Spencer published the lyrics to the standard version of "The Rose of Tralee" in April, 1846, and there seems to be not the slightest available evidence that Mulchinock could have written exactly the same words, plus a few more, before that date.

Nor is there anythig in the standard text of the song to suggest that the love affair described did *not* end with "Mary" accepting the speaker's proposal of marriage. He says right out, "*I won the heart of* the Rose of Tralee!" Allegedly, that's not quite what happened to WPM.

Until somebody can show a version of "The Rose of Tralee" printed before April, 1846, with WPM's name on it as the lyricist, or some comparable evidence in manuscript, there is absolutely no credible basis for suggesting that he wrote it, with or without reference to India and the chill hand of death. If a local historian in Tralee knows of such evidence, there's no reason to keep it secret. Why not knock C. Mordaunt Spencer out of contention once and for all?

Conceivably Mulchinock wrote a different song with the same title, much like Brougham & Maeder, but so far there's no evidence even of that.