 The origins of the song are unclear, but the melody has been traced to an Irish-language song, "Do Bhí Bean Uasal" ("There Was a Noblewoman"), which is attributed to the poet Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna, who died in 1756 in County Clare.Music collector George Petrie obtained two settings of this melody from fellow collector Patrick Joyce.Joyce came from Ballyorgan in the Ballyhoura Mountains, on the borders of counties Limerick and Cork.