I keep meaning to mention that i found this song. It's about the báidín beag gleoite that he remembers from his youth. Well, sort of. It's actually more about changing times, and a way of life now vanished. Thanks to a tip on this thread, i asked on an Irish list, and there was a reader who recognized the words.

The song is called 'Cumha', by Pádraig O hÁoláin & Martina Goggin; it's on an album called 'Gaelcheol Tíre Phleearáca Chonamara'. It's a varied collection of live performance containing country-western, blues, gospel, & trad -- maybe more that i've forgotten. (It was funny to hear country-western done in Irish with an Irish flavor to the instrumentation, but it's for real.) The CD is out of print, but it's available as MP3 from cic.ie: https://www.cic.ie/en/music/mp3/gaelcheol-tire-phlearaca-chonamara-mp3

Bain sult as!