"Just why did she slow down her singing, the more she sang in public"
This has been confirmed over and over again Vic; Alan Lomax appears to have been one of the main culprits with his overemphasis of Jeannie's speed of singing; "magnificently dignified pace at which she takes her songs" (sorry; can't remember for the life of me where that came from).
He and others did the same with Maggie Barry, whose style of singing developed in the streets and had little to do with the "fireside singing" (so described by Kerry Traveller singer, Mikeen McCarthy) that took place among small groups of family members and friends.
Mikeen was a ballad seller who also sang in streets and around pubs and took great pains to point out the difference in his own styles of singing.
Its why we always made a point of getting our singers to talk as well as sing.
Jim Carroll