I have read that Irish folk music tends to be more "geo-specific" than comparable music in many other cultures. It's not an "absolute" by any stretch, just a strong tendency. The songs commonly tell about specific people or characters involved in specific things with specific others in specific places. That's especially true in the "rebel" genre. I imagine that "trait" was transported with the people in their diaspora. "Wild Colonial Boy" might be a good example. Though I'm less familiar with Scottish and English folk tunes, it seems the geo-specificity thing is strong there as well.