quokka: I have heard "The Good Ship Venus" to a couple of tunes, but neither bears any resemblance to that of "Whiskey in the Jar".

Charley Noble: As to the Royal Navy, the 20th-century song "Stripey and Blondie", a takeoff on "Frankie and Johnny" collected by Cyril Tawney in _Grey Funnel Lines_, gives the impression that having a boyfriend is no big deal, but you had better not let your girlfriend find out about it: "Never run an OD winger/And a blond barmaid as well". Tawney explains in his gloss on "winger":

Originally this meant a young novice sailor taken "under the wing"
of a veteran, usually a "Stripey" or Petty Officer. It might or
might not imply a homosexual bond....