interesting info- origin still unclear seeing as it emerged on either side of the Atlantic at similar times.
Pretty certainly not Irish, welsh is the UK source- ask Pat Smith of Llantrisant!
Often heard in the 1984 UK miners' strike & I well remember playing it for the striking Notts miners who were on holiday, hosted by the Kent miners at the Tilmanstone Welfare field.
It's become the anthem of the Harraton band at Durham Miners' Gala every July, Doreen Henderson leading the singing before the County Hotel balcony.

Jim Carroll- you're right that we found little evidence of mining songs in Ireland, although Alan Woods at ITMA did send me a copy of a song by a man called Daly from Arigna- I have it somewhere, but having moved twice in 18 months, it may not emerge for a while, and we never used it at the Arigna events mentioned on another thread.

On that thread, about Irish coal mining songs, I described how Ed Pickford, never having visited Arigna, wrote several songs on the subject, all based on a book I sent him, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the closure of the 400 year old Arigna coalfield.

One song 'In my working days' came out in a bluesy version on a recent compilation of Ed's songs 'The Hooky Mat Project' available from his website, as well as the words to many of his other songs.

This info is not relevant to the thread and I intended to post the words of another one of the set here, but it would be better done on the other one, so that's what's where I'll put it... back to the subject