Dublin’s Most Famous Lady
We’ve all heard the song Molly Malone, sometimes called Cockles and Mussels. It’s a beautiful tale of a Dublin street vendor who ultimately dies of a fever.
No one knows for certain where the ballad originated. It was first published, in its most common form, in the United States in 1883. But that version may have been based upon a much earlier tune.
More recently, a similar song was found in a 1790 English songbook. This version, though, was far more risqué, with the singer yearning for someone to share her bed. This of course led to speculation that Molly was a street vendor by day and prostitute (or, at least, a “loose” woman) by night.
Was Molly a real person?
Who knows? Many have tried to find her, and she may or may not have actually existed.
Molly is now a fixture in Dublin. The bronze statue of her, pushing her cart of cockles and mussels, was done by Jeanne Rynhart for Dublin’s 1988 millennium celebration. It depicts her in traditional but revealing 17th Century dress.
The attire hinds at her being a prostitute or perhaps simply a loose woman. The sculpture has many nicknames. The most common being The Tart with a Cart. Others include the dolly with the trolley, the flirt in the skirt, the dish with the fish, and the trollop with the scallop.
The statue was originally on Grafton Street in Dublin, but moved a block over to make room for tram construction. The move was intended to be temporary, but may very well be permanent.
Here are the lyrics to the song.
Photographs by Linda McDonnell