Molly Malone
1663 - 1699Audio
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- Molly Malone is commemorated in a bronze statue created by Irish sculptor Jeanne Rynhart during the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988. During the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ben Briscoe, unveiled a statue of Molly Malone on Grafton Street, and 13 June was declared Molly Malone Day.
- Molly (or Mollie) Malone, who is named as the song's heroine in a popular, unofficial anthem of the city ("Cockles and Mussels" or "Molly Malone"), was most likely a generic fishmonger and street trader in nineteenth-century Dublin who died of a fever and subsequently haunted Dublin in ghostly form with her barrow and famous street-cry "Cockles and Mussels, alive, alive o!"
- Although its origins are unknown, the legend or myth has evolved from a simple, melodic ballad into a near-industry in modern Dublin, particularly in tourism. The statue rapidly became a landmark and tourist attraction, with visitors constantly photographing it and referring to it as 'the tart with the cart'.
- There is no evidence that the song is based on a real woman from the 17th century or any other time period. Molly, internationally recognized as a symbol of Dublin, most likely did not exist in person but outlasted actual Dublin 'Statues' in the popular imagination, demonstrating the power of historical fiction. With no reliable evidence, a woman named Molly (or Mary) Malone, whose burial records date back to the Middle Ages, has been imagined as the eponymous heroine.Indeed, some from the demolished St John's churchyard (Church of Irish) at Fishamble St. near Christ Church cathedral, dating from 1699 to 1734, have been offered as suggestions, if not proof, of her existence.
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The Song lyrics Molly Malone
In Dublin's fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh,"
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".
She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheel'd their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying "Cockles and mussels alive, alive oh!"
(chorus)
She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!" - SOURCE Wikipedia