Anyone who has ever heard Irish music in the past is probably familiar with the reel known as Molly Malone. A standard number played in most concert and pub venues, it tells of an attractive young woman making her way in the world, selling seafood by the barrow, through the streets of Dublin. In the song, she dies from a fever, and her ghost is thought to haunt Dublin to this day. The city itself is so enamored with the legend of Molly Malone that a statue to her memory was erected near Trinity College, to celebrate the millennium anniversary of the city’s founding.
The creation of the statue, and the research into the legend that followed it, also touched off a bit of a controversy that really never was settled. To this day, there are those who contend that Molly Malone never existed, and that the song was not even written by an Irishman! Nevertheless, the argument still continues, and it has not diminished the popularity of the lass, especially during ghost tours of Dublin at night.
Will the real Molly Malone stand up?
The sculptor chosen to recreate Molly Malone in statue form really did not help matters with his rendition of the famous lass. His name was Jean Rynhart, and styled his statue in such a way as to actually smear the legend a bit, and not in a good way. His Molly Malone shows her to be a scantily clad temptress with a wheelbarrow, selling fish and shells, while dressed for what was rumored to be her true profession, as a prostitute. To use this rendition to celebrate the founding of Dublin was scandalous, and there was quite an uproar about it all. Still, the statue still stands, and the mystery about Molly Malone is still as murky as ever before.
The statue was placed at the crossroads between Suffolk Street, and Fishamble Street. During a ceremony, the supposed birth and death records of a woman thought to be the original Molly Malone were presented to the lord mayor at St. Andrew’s Church. The records showed that the woman believed to be the real Molly Malone was born Mary Malone, the daughter of Robert Malone. She had been baptized at St. John’s church, since destroyed, when it existed on Fishamble Street. This left dirt on the faces of the officials who had held the reception at St. Andrew’s because it had been believed to be “her” church. Molly is a nickname for Mary, but it left many believing that the woman had never really existed at all.
The new urban legend
With all of the controversy, the legend has pretty much been reduced to an urban legend surrounding that section of Dublin. It still gets featured on ghost walks because of the end of the song, and even the statue is now viewed with a little more affection than its nickname, The Tart With The Cart, might imply. There are layers to this tale that may never be resolved, but for now, it should be enjoyed as it was meant to, a tale to warm the heart, and chill the blood at the same time.