I may have missed something here, but could someone remind me why the ballad is assumed to be of Irish origin? The earliest broadside copy (whether we accept the 1765 date or Steve's 1780) was printed in Newcastle. Is it the Bawn name, or the garbled 'Kiln-wan' in Bottle & Friend, that locates it to Northern Ireland? Is it possible that it could be an English composition based on an event in Ireland?