Who was Molly Malone?

About 300 years ago, "Molly" was a common nickname for women called "Mary". Over the years there were probably many Molly Malones, but one Molly Malone from Dublin became more famous and there's a popular song about her. 

Molly Malone supposedly lived in 17th century Dublin, she was a fishmonger working around the Grafton Street area and is said to have been a real beauty. However, to her contemporaries she was not only known as a fishmonger. Because of the immense poverty of those days the young woman was forced to sell her beauty to strangers in order to survive. Although there are many stories about her, it seems Molly Malone died with cholera in 1699 in a street of Dublin, still of young age. Later on, Molly Malone became one of the symbols of Dublin.

You've probably seen her statue hundreds of times. Her statue was located in Grafton Street and it was moved to Suffolk Street in 2014.

The Irish traditional song "Cockles and Mussels" made Molly world-famous: It has been interpreted by many bands and is today regarded as Dublin's inofficial hymn. The lyrics tell us about Molly Malone and her sad end:

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-a-live-oh,
Alive-a-live-oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive alive oh".

She was a fishmonger,
And sure 'twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And both wheeled 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.
Now her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh!"

(chorus)