Music, Dublin

"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels") is a popular song which has acquired the status of an Irish anthem. It has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City in Ireland, it tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but died young, of a fever.

Molly is commemorated in a statue placed at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin, colloquially known as ' The Tart With The Cart', 'The Dish With The Fish ' and 'The Trollop With The Scallops' . The statue portrays Molly as a busty young woman and is claimed to represent the real person on whom the song is based.
An urban legend has grown up around the figure, Molly has been presented variously as a part-time prostitute by night, or - in contrast - as one of the few celibat females of her day.
Some say - yeah she was celibat, sell a bit here, sell a bit there.
However, sadly, there is no evidence that the song portrays a real person, afterall.

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,
And sure 'twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And they each wheeled their 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 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!"

"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".

The Corrs are one of my favorite bands so I like to include them here.

The Corrs are an Irish band and consist of the 1 brothers and 3 sisters Andrea (vocals), Caroline (drums), Sharon (violin) and Jim (guitar, piano). They originally come from the town of Dundalk in the County Louth in the Republic of Ireland.

The band was formed in 1990 when Alan Hughes was doing a casting for his upcoming movie "The Commitments". Though the Corrs' parts in this movie are tiny, it helped them to meet their future manager, John Hughes. After years of touring pubs and small clubs, the big break came when they were invited to America and got to know the famous producer David Foster. He was instantly smitten with the Corrs' style and signed them right away. Only little later, "Forgiven not forgotten" was released and marked the Corrs' rise to international success. Two more studio albums and two live albums followed, resulting in over 24 million sold CDs and countless awards.

You hear "Ireland" and you may think Chieftains or Clannad. However, even though the instruments the Corrs are playing are indeed a little bit unusual for a modern band, they have far more in more stock than just a jig. Tin whistle, bodhrán and violin are not found very often in today's music. However, this is one of the strengths of their style: they include Irish elements in pop music (or vice versa as you prefer), which adds a trademark twist to their songs. Caroline once called the Corrs "a traditional Irish pop-rock band, whatever that may be".

Today, the Corrs are one of Ireland's most famous groups next to the Chieftains, U2 and Westlife.

While in Dublin, we met a friend of a friend named Eamon Carroll. He's a Dublin pub musician who sings a variety of traditional Irish music. While with Mr. Carroll (pronounced like the name Carl), we hung out at a few of his pubs long after closing, and he took us around to some of the unique sights of Dublin such as Kilmainham Prison and the Proclamation of Independence Memorial at Arbor Hill Cemetery. A unique and memorable experience.

A few years ago I watched a gem of a film called Once about a guitarist/singer who busks on Grafton Street in Dublin, so that was something I was looking forward to when I came to Dublin. And Grafton Street did not disappoint!

Grafton Street would have to be one of my favorite places in Dublin; I love it for the shopping, the energy, the people watching, the buskers, and the street performers. For pure entertainment value, this is the place to be!

I was lucky enough to come across a group of Irish musicians that were jamming on drums. I was mesmorised as I sat there listening to the rythm