13 June: Molly Malone Day

June 13 is Molly Malone Day in Dublin. Here are 10 things you might not know about the song.

1. The tune is also known as ‘Cockles and Mussels’.
2. The full lyrics are below, but in a nutshell, Molly Malone was a beautiful fishmonger selling her wares on the streets of Dublin. She died of an unspecified fever and now her ghost haunts the city.
3. There is no concrete evidence that the song is about a real person. "Molly" is a derivative of the names Mary and Margaret; Malone is a not uncommon surname in Ireland, so there have probably been hundreds of Molly Malones, but there's no definite evidence that any one of them was a beautiful fishmonger who died young.
4. That said, there was a Mary Malone who died in Dublin on June 13th, 1699, and the date of her death was adopted as Molly Malone Day.
5. No-one is completely sure, either, about the origins of the song. It was first published in the US in the late 19th century and is attributed to a Scottish composer called James Yorkston with music arranged by Edmund Forman. It isn't known whether Yorkston had re-arranged an old folk song, or if he'd written the song himself in the tragicomic style popular in Victorian music hall.
6. There is, however, a similar song dating back to 1790 in which Molly is described as living in Howth, a fishing village in North Dublin. In this version, she sells cockles and mussels by day and her body at night!
7. The song is regarded as the unofficial anthem of Dublin.
8. In 1988 a statue of Molly Malone was unveiled in Dublin. The statue is by Irish sculptor Jeanne Rynhart and depicts her wearing a low cut 17th century dress, hinting at the possibility she was a prostitute. Locals have nicknamed the statue ‘the tart with the cart’ - and the bronze hue is wearing off around the bosom area thanks to people touching her boobs.
9. The song has been recorded in English by Heino, U2, Danny Kaye, Pete Seeger, Alfred Deller, The Limeliters, Frank Harte, Sinéad O'Connor, Johnny Logan, Ian McCulloch, Paul Harrington, Damien Leith and Burl Ives. Probably the best-known version is by The Dubliners.
10. It has been sung in movies, including A Clockwork Orange and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It has also been used as a football anthem. In London, the lyrics have been adapted to "As she wheeled her wheel-barrow, Through Wealdstone and Harrow" and in some versions "Kylie Minogue" is substituted for "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!"

(chorus)

The Raiders Trilogy

Book One

Book Three

Book Two

   

Power Blaster is a superhero who lives in a dimension not unlike our own, in the mega-nation of Innovia. No-one knows who he is or where his powers come from. 
After saving the life of the President several times, Power Blaster learns that a test of a nuclear warhead to defend the planet against asteroid strikes will have devastating consequences for his world and sets out to prevent it.

Power Blaster's actions lead to an unexpected result - a wormhole opens between his dimension and our own. Anyone in the vicinity is pulled through. People from diverse backgrounds and cultures must co-operate to survive and learn to live with the powers travel through the wormhole has bestowed on some of them.

A stable wormhole is established between the two dimensions. Power Blaster is determined to bring Desi Troyes, the person responsible for the bomb, to justice. Help comes from some rather unexpected sources. Meanwhile, Shanna Douglas sets out on a mission of her own, to find out if there is a cure for the life altering condition the wormhole gave her friend, Benedict Cole. Little does she know that she will stumble upon the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious origins.