The once popular trade of the ballad seller, hawking his colourful penny ballad sheets at the local fairs, were replaced by the printed songs in newspapers and magazines. As the availability of a radio in the home increased people would be eager to get the words of the songs that were played on it. People would write to the editor of the local newspaper or national editions like ‘Ireland’s Own’ requesting that the words to a particular song appear in their next addition. I have come across many bundles of these types of songs over the years that have been cut out and kept in biscuit tins or between the pages of books.