Hailing frtom Kilkenny and journeying back often, Geography in Ireland is not to be confused with what's taught in schools. '5 minutes down that road' can be several miles, 'a mile' can be 50 yards, likewise mountains are usually little more than hills, and cliffs any decent sized pile of rocks. So when place names are lauded in song, usually from emnotional or romantic reasons or both, they tend to assume a size and greatness, and beauty, often far beyond what the geographical eye might see. And a great thing it is, how duller would the songs sound if written by text book geography e.g
'Where those big mounds of Mourne sweep down to the sea'

'round the rocky little dunes on the hill near Doneen'

or
'in Dublin's traffic logged dirty city, where the girls are so gritty'

You get my drift