Luke learned it from Barry Gleeson, another Dublin singer. He learned it from a recording by Jimmy O'Dea. O'Dea was a famous Irish stage comedian - last vestige of vaudeville, really. Many comic songs were written for him by scriptwriters Seamas Kavanagh and Harry O'DOnovan. Barry reckons O'DOnovan wrote this one.

Regards

p.s. Kavanagh wrote "Biddy Mulligan, the Pride of the Coombe."