Day for sweet Molly Malone

Life and legacy of folk legend and our most controversial statue

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IT'S Molly Malone Day today, in honour of one of Ireland's most familiar folk legends.

The Dublin fishmonger's story is etched into the national psyche, immortalised in statue and song and June 13 is her annual day.

Legend has it she was a market seller by day and a prostitute by night, and events this year proved she’s as controversial as ever.

Her statue in Dublin was in the news in spring when city chiefs recruited stewards to stop cheeky tourists grabbing her ample bosom.

It was ridiculed as overkill and made international headlines, showing Molly's global fame.

Here, LUKA FLANAGAN looks at her life and legacy to mark Molly Malone Day.

Molly Malone's origins

“In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone”

The opening lines of the song in her honour are well known, yet its roots suggest it may not be Irish at all.

Evidence of the song's existence was first recorded in 1876, in an American college songbook. Though published in Boston, Massachusetts, the song is still heavily associated with Ireland.

It was republished in 1884, with London music publishers Francis Brothers and Day releasing a version composed by Scotsman James Yorkston.

The Francis Brothers edition states its version was a reprint of an earlier, Scottish version of the song - however, no copies of the Scottish edition have ever been uncovered.