Lots of airs were claimed for the Irish by the likes of Petrie and Bunting and many of these airs were found in Tudor tune books in England. The problem is part of the Irish/Scots/Welsh inferiority complex against their dominant neighbour. The natural partisanship often leads fierce patriots to claim anything found in their country to have originated there. Diligent research often demonstrates the opposite to be true. Lover was such a patriot I fear.

Who's going to be the first to prove my point?