If you’re meeting someone in Dublin City, a popular meeting spot is at Molly Malone statue.  Molly stands at the bottom of Grafton Street (near the Trinity College end) and has been standing there since 1987 when Ben Briscoe, the Lord of Mayor of Dublin at the time, unveiled her in celebration of the city’s first millennium.  You see, the statue is not only a Dublin landmark but the famous song “Cockles and Mussels” or “In Dublin’s Fair City” about sweet Molly is kind of the unofficial anthem of the city.  Molly has such a hold on Dubliner’s hearts that June 13th has even been officially dubbed (wow, that word works perfectly here) “Molly Malone Day.”

So is Molly Malone fact or fiction? The song tells the tale of an attractive woman who worked as a fish monger by day and a prostitute by night. Sadly, Molly died of a fever when she was quite young.  It’s been documented that several Molly Malones did in fact live in Dublin over the centuries but there is no evidence connecting any of them to story in the legendary tune. Also, Molly allegedly lived during the 17th century and the tune was not written until 1883 (by James Yorkston, of Edinburgh).  There’s also the issue that the song is not thought to be written in the style associated with traditional street ballads of Ireland in the 17th century. This makes it unlikely that the song originally came from the time Molly supposedly lived and was then created later.  With that, it seems Molly Malone most likely lives only in our minds.

Check out The Dubliner’s (accompanied by the crowd) at Vicar Street perform the famous tune.

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1. The Unsinkable Molly Brown
2. Seeing Is Not Believing: Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney
3. St. Valentine In Dublin City
4. Getting A Handle On Handel
5. A Happy “Danny Boy”