Handsome Polly-O

Oh a regiment of soldiers came to Mohill-o
A regiment of soldiers came to Mohill-o
And the captain on parade
He fell in love with a ladies' maid
And the name that she was called was handsome Polly-o

Will you 'list in the army, handsome Polly-o? (x2)
Ah you'll get a horse to ride
And your rifle by your side
And a whole band of music going afore ye-o.

Didn't I give you your answer long, long ago? (x2)
That I ne'er intend to roam
Into any foreign shore
Nor to marry a poor soldier in the army-o.

Now when she came in presence of the captain-o (x2)
Ah she made him there to stand
With his cap and gun in hand
And she laughed him to scorn to his soldiers-o.

The regiment got the rout into Iveagh-o (x2)
And the captain he fell sick
And he died all in a week
And it was all for the love of handsome Polly-o.
And all for the love of handsome Polly-o.
Ah the captain he fell sick
And he died all in a week
And it was all for the love of handsome Polly-o.

The soldiers went to mourn for the captain-o (x2)
For if Polly wouldn't do
They would get another view
For there were far better girls out in Iveagh-o.

Recorded by Martin Carthy on Shearwater, 1972 (Re-issued 1991, Mooncrest Records CRESTCD008). Carthy says of the song:

"Handsome Polly-O is from the recording made by Seamus Ennis of Thomas Moran of Mohill, Co. Antrim, and is a nicely unfussy way of doing a song which in one form at one time was part of every folk guitarist's staple diet (not so much now. God is good)."

Iveagh is just a guess; would anybody happen to know the correct place-name? The only Mohill in my atlas is in Leinster, so that's no help!

Malcolm