"Which is why I started with 'I believe"
A move in the right direction and a far cry from your past sneery dismissal of your THEORIES.
I have no claim as to where 'Streams' originated; I do suspect it's earlier than the 19th century, but that is instinct, not knowledge, nor do I claim it to be anything else - how could I - how would we possibly know where it started..
I put it up as an example of a song assumed by many to be English, including me until I started working in Ireland.
I don't "believe" it started anywhere - I don't know, nor have I given the matter too much thought, so why should I go gathering versions?
On the other hand, I would be interested to learn why you believe "the earliest is Irish, but not in the Republic", beyond the fact (or not) that the earliest printed version may have appeared there - which I believe to be a totally irrational basis for any assumption.
I'm becoming increasingly bemused by the number of people whose opinions and work I otherwise respect seem to have fallen into the trap of assuming that because many folks songs appeared in print, that is where they originated - the Achilles heel of the otherwise excellent expanded 'Penguin Book of English Folk-song as far as I'm concerned.
So far nobody has offered an explanation as why they have come to such an illogical (I feel I am growing a pair of Mr Spock's pointy ears, the number of times I feel forced to use the word) conclusions.
Perhaps you can enlighten me - or then again, perhaps not.
Jim Carroll