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"The roots of this song, however, likely link back to the 17th century, given Ireland's involvement in the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Nine Years War(1688-97), and especially the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-1691), since the song refers to being "sent to France," which suggests the Flight of the Wild Geese: the departure of the Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691." I think this statement is not sustainable. There is no source for this and quite obviously the song dates back rather to the napoleonic wars or the Seven Years' War (1756-63), both periods, when British soldiers were likely to be sent to France.31.18.163.193 (talk) 16:56, 12 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There are two general references supporting this article, so the statement is probably supported by one of these, even if there's no explicit citation. I have tagged the passage for improvement, until someone with access to the sources can verify this information. Ibadibam (talk) 19:46, 12 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]