I tend to think that Err-LYE was an affectation of those damned folk singers...you know how they can be.(Loud Spit, here)
My reaserch strongly suggests that Nova Scotians don't generally sing Err-Lye in the morning while singing "Farewell to Nova Scotia"
When pushed to reveal sources those in my circle of friends who insist otherwise all seem to have learned it from Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA) activities and the like in their callow youths.
A sampling of several Nova Scotian singers revealed none who did it that way. When we Pyrates Royale recorded it on BlackJack, we went with a "normal" pronunciation.
On the other hand British sailors showed a remarkable ability to mispronounce words.