There is a reference in the Lyman C Draper MSS to Major William McMahon, of Ohio County, VA (now WV), reciting "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" over a freshly taken Indian scalp, sometime c1792. The reference dates from about 60 years later, and I had wondered if it was possibly anachronistic, as I could not find anything at the time to show the piece was as old as this. Of course there was no Internet when I was looking, and no easy access to people who knew the data given above!

Regrettably, Draper's informant did not give a text, only the title. (And it refers to his speaking, not singing, it.) Does this suggest that "Larry" may have had reprints in America fairly soon after publication in Dublin?

Thanks to all for the info. I'm quite pleased to know the Draper reference is chronologically OK.