Here's Brian O'Higgins'introduction to the song from "Wolfe Tone Annual 1950":

"last year I told you of a song called "Sean-Chuige na Midhe{Meath?]go deo", which, because of my hatred of countyism and provinciliasm, I altered to "Sean-Eire na nGaedheal go deo". Under the title "A Song of the Dawn", and to the air of "My Love Nell", it appeared in the March issue of "Irish Freedom", 1912 [here he gives the lyrics, almost identical to weerover's]...to the same air there was a vulgar 'stage Irish' song called "Are You There, Moriarty" in vogue for a long time. When Father Walsh included my song in his grand series "Songs of the Gael" he had this note after the last verse,

'This fine air was unfortunately associated for a long time with a vulgar music hall ditty. I don't know the Irish name for the air.I leave it without a name rather than give it the name of the said vulgar song by which it was known. The air has all the marks of a very old Irish air - two-strain, gapped scale and three-fold repitition of final note. Brian O'Higgins fine song will lift it to the higher plane that it was accustomed to occupy'

BOH resumes:
"It was lifted to a still higher plane some years later when the brave men who carried their lives in their hands every hour of the day and of the night as they defended Ireland's freedom and Ireland's honour against the armed forces of an unscrupulous enemy, sang "Sean-Eire na nGaedheal go deo" in the intervals between their battles and felt sincerely in the deepest core of their hearts the spirit of the words they sang. It was known all over the country".