The Irish tune that carries the rebel song appeared in print, in its current form, in 1909, and a bit differently in 1902.

The unnamed Irish air that carries William Kennedy's poem "The Irish Emigrant," in R. A. Smith's "Select Melodies" (1828) is also similar.

The other well-known Irish tune of that title was collected by Bunting in 1839.

The relevant sense of "bugger" was in print in 1540.