I first heard this song from the wonderful McPeake family in the mid-sixties, but found it very popular among the tourists in West Cork, especially accompanied by the spoons & with the last chorus seriously speeded up.
On a practical level, I found the Macroom version much superior to the Clonakilty one.... I never was stopped by the guards- in that case the stock answer was 'Oh I got it to rub on the leg of a sick cow, officer'......