Molly Malone

"Molly Malone" (Roud16932, also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") is a song set inDublin, Ireland, which has become its unofficialanthem.
A statue representing Molly Malone was unveiled onGrafton Streetby thenLord Mayor of Dublin,Ben Briscoe, during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, when 13 June was declared to be Molly Malone Day.
In July 2014, the statue was relocated to Suffolk Street, in front of the Tourist Information Office, to make way forLuastrack-laying work at the old location.
The song tells the fictional tale of afishwifewho plied her trade on the streets of Dublin and died young, of a fever. In the late 20th century, a legend grew up that there was a historical Molly, who lived in the 17th century. She is typically represented as ahawkerby day and a part-time prostitute by night.In contrast, she has also been portrayed as one of the fewchastefemale street hawkers of her day.
There is no evidence that the song is based on a real woman in the 17th century or any other time. The name "Molly" originated as a familiar version of the namesMaryandMargaret. Many such "Molly" Malones were born in Dublin over the centuries, but no evidence connects any of them to the events in the song.Nevertheless, the Dublin Millennium Commission in 1988 endorsed claims made for a Mary Malone who died on 13 June 1699, and proclaimed 13 June to be "Molly Malone Day".
The song is not recorded earlier than 1876, when it was published inBoston,Massachusetts.Its placement in the section of the book titled "Songs from English and German Universities" suggests an Irish origin.It was also published byFrancis Brothers and Dayin London in 1884 as a work written and composed by James Yorkston, of Edinburgh, with music arranged by Edmund Forman. The London edition states that it was reprinted by permission of Kohler and Son of Edinburgh, implying that the first edition was in Scotland, but no copies of it have been found.
According to Siobhán Marie Kilfeather, the song is from themusic hallstyle of the period, and one cannot wholly dismiss the possibility that it is "based on an older folk song", but "neither melody nor words bear any relationship to the Irish tradition of street ballads". She calls the story of the historical Molly "nonsense". The song is in a familiar tragicomic mode that was then popular and was probably influenced by earlier songs with a similar theme, such as Percy Montross's "Oh My Darling, Clementine", which was written in about 1880.
A variant, "Cockles and Mussels", with some different lyrics, appeared inStudents' Songs: Comprising the Newest and Most Popular College Songs As Now Sung at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, ... Union, Etcin 1884.
A copy ofApollo's Medley, dating from around 1790, published inDoncasterand rediscovered in 2010, contains a song referring to "Sweet Molly Malone" on page 78 that ends with the line "Och! I'll roar and I'll groan, My sweet Molly Malone, Till I'm bone of your bone, And asleep in your bed." Other than this name and the fact that she lives inHowth, near Dublin, this song bears no resemblance toMolly Malone.The song was later reprinted in the collectionThe Shamrock: A Collection of Irish Songs(1831) and was published inThe Edinburgh Literary Journalthat year with the title "Molly Malone".
Some elements of the song appear in several earlier songs. A character named Molly Malone appears in at least two other songs. The song "Widow Malone," published as early as 1809, refers to the title character alternately as "Molly Malone," "Mary Malone" and "sweet mistress Malone".Another song, "Meet Me Miss Molly Malone", was published as early as 1836 in Glasgow, and in America in 1840.The song "Pat Corney's Account of Himself", published as early as 1826,begins, "Now it's show me that city where the girls are so pretty" and ends, "Crying oysters, and cockles, and Mussels for sale."During the 19th century, the expression "Dublin's fair city" was used regularly in reference to Dublin, and the phrase "alive, alive O" is known to have been shouted by street vendors selling oysters, mussels, fish and eels.
Molly Malone is commemorated in a statue commissioned byJurys Hotel Groupand designed byJeanne Rynhart, erected to celebrate thecity's first millennium in 1988. It was originally intended that Rynhart would be commissioned to create a further 12 street sculptures, including those of famous literary figures such asW. B. YeatsandOscar Wilde, with the intention of creating a sculpture trail in the city.The unveiling of the statue was not met with universal praise, with Adrian Munnelly, director of theArts Councilin his capacity as registrar ofAosdána, writing toBord Fáilte(the National Tourism Development) at the time to express his members' "universal depreciation" noting the statue was "entirely deficient in artistic point and merit".Lord Mayor of DublinBen Briscoe defended the statue, saying "the statue was regarded with great warmth and affection by the city of Dublin".
The statue was originally placed at the bottom ofGrafton Street, and as with otherpublic art in the city, was christenedcolloquiallyas "The Tart with the Cart". The statue portrays Molly as a busty young woman in 17th-century dress, which would have consisted of a full-lengthchemise,overskirtandbasqueofwool.Her low-cut dress and large breasts were justified on the grounds that as "women breastfed publicly in Molly's time, breasts were popped out all over the place."The traditional, but revealing, costume in which she was sculpted by Rynhart may have also nodded to her supposed job as a part-time prostitute.
In April 2014, the statue was removed from its original location at the base of Grafton Street and kept in storage to make way for the newLuastracks which skirted around Trinity College.During the removal of the statue, some cracks were revealed which required restoration work. This was carried out by Bushy Park Ironworks in the city.Speaking toThe Irish Times, ironworks employee Edward Bisgood noted how the company was "carrying out somepatinationto bring her back to her original dark brown colour, but (was) leaving the areas where she's been rubbed over the years, so she will look as people remember her, but she'll be a lot stronger".In July 2014, the statue was placed in its new location outside the Dublin Tourist Office (formerlySt. Andrew's Church) on Suffolk Street, a short distance from the original site.Due to its notability and location, the statue is also a common starting and finishing point for some of Dublin city's walking tours.
According toThe Irish Times"sometime before 2014", tourists beganrubbing the statue'sbosom area "for luck",with some visitors getting a photo of themselves doing so.The relatively new practice has been criticised by some,including Dublin-born singerImelda May, who associated it with the objectification of women and questioned how "the only statue in Dublin with breasts is basically assaulted in front of our children's eyes daily".In February 2024, a local busker initiated a campaign named 'Leave Molly mAlone' to draw attention to the misogynistic trend and call for its cessation.
In the filmA Clockwork Orange(1971), a drunk tramp sings "Molly Malone" in a tunnel before being assaulted by the Alex and his gang, whom Alex refers to as his "droogs".In the filmPremature Burial(1962), a character plays the melody to "Molly Malone" on the piano.
The Irishsoap operaFair Cityderives its title from the opening line of the song: "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty..."
Versions of the song "Molly Malone" have been recorded by many artists, includingThe Dubliners,Heino,Danny Kaye,Pete Seeger,Sinéad O'Connor,Johnny Logan,Fiddler's Green,andPatty Gurdy.
Bing CrosbyandRosemary Clooneyrecorded an updated version of the song titled "The Daughter of Molly Malone" on their albumThat Travelin' Two-Beat(1965).Crosby also sang the song on the albumA Little Bit of Irishrecorded in 1966.
A version of the song was released as acharity singlein 1998, to mark theDublin Millennium, and reached number 4 in theIrish singles chart.
Versions of the song have also been recorded in Russian (asДуша моя, Моллиor "Molly, my soul"), French, and in Dutch (as "kokkels en mossels").