"Distant relative" is always a difficult one with Traveller - the singer Mary Delaney (nee Reilly) said she thought she was a 'distant relative' of John's, though she never met him - that's the way it is/was with Travelling families
I have always found it a problem with Tom's collection - what I know about his singers is what he told me (often late at night over a pint in Mary Fahy's) - Tom was one of the most generous and forthcoming people I ever met - I still miss his company and friendship deeply
His magnificent collection lays largely unused (I understand there are plans to put it on line, but I have no idea when)
Not long before Tom died, he was given the go-ahead to put together a national collection of Irish Songs based on his recordings and the index he had meticulously put together (an Irish version of Roud)
Sadly, he fell ill and was never able to start either.

Unlike England, Scotland and the U.S., Ireland has no major serious National song collection - several excellent regional collections, but none that systematically covers Ireland
A screaming omission that needs to be righted
Jim Carroll