RE: On We GoI have been interested in this song ever since I heard it on the "Women Of The Celtic World" Vol. 1 CD. I sing it pretty much that version, though I do not recall the artist.
I was curious about clarity of certain terms so I played the CD for no less an authority than the famous Biddy of Biddy McGraw's Pub who is Belfast Irish and it would not be polite to speculate on her age. She had heard the song or similar song in Belfast over 30 years ago. The version on the Celtic Women compilation is of fairly common tradional Irish melody and arrangment and the lyrics this version uses are old Irish slang.
"Cozy as a codfish" I've heard all of my life. "Chucky for his pay" is old Irish sailor slang for whore and the term is still used in Ireland and Jamaica, where the natives learned it from Irish sailors.
It is my opinion that the song is at least of traditional derivation and the version the Molly's does is a bowdlerization-- a highly homogenized variant on an original Irish bawdy ditty.
The Mollys version has several non-sequitur-ish phrasings and a duller tale and motif.
I could be wrong, but I intend to do a little more research.
Will