Growing up in Ireland (in the 70's), I always knew the song listed above as the Schartz and Jerome 1902 version. It was commonly sung and on the radio. I never understood why a song addressed to "Molly", a girl's name in Ireland, sometimes had the line "My Darling boy my love is all for you". It seemed odd but I never thought about it much. Now I have encountered a book just published by an academic saying the term "Molly" was used in England in the 19th century by homosexuals to refer to a male sexual partners/lovers (The Cunning House; Richard Margaraf-Turley; Sandstone press; 2015; isbn 978-1-910124-10-9).

Does anyone have any insight - was this a song with a hidden meaning going under the cultural radar in 19th and 20th century Ireland ?