".... As the first episode of TG4's excellent new series Scéalta Átha Cliath laid it out, fascinatingly and highly entertainingly, Molly was about as real as Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, and with even less of a tenuous connection to reality than either of them. ..."

(the link above lost some text, I think this one works)
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/music-news/the-real-truth-behind-molly-malone-song-is-more-cock-and-bull-than-cockles-and-muscles-34994346.html