Ballygrine, Baile Ciuin, Clare Fergus..the origins of the song 'Carrickfergus' are unknown - and likely unknowable. So you're free to make up anything you want, including improbable stories and places that have no logical connection and may not even exist. That's the magic of traditional song.

But if you're interested in singing about a plausible romance that might actually have happened, Ballygrant in Islay's Kilmeny Parish, where there are "marble stones as black as ink," and Carrickfergus across the Irish Sea, are real places with a historic connection that actually makes sense.

Your choice. ;-)