Having researched the origins of the song 'Cockles and Mussels' and its heroine Molly Malone for many years, I have picked up quite a bit of useful information from Mudcat threads. We know there are two songs called 'Cockles and Mussels', the famous Molly Malone one attributed to James Yorkston in a version published in 1884, the other set in London and telling the tale of Jim the Mussel Man which was attibuted to Joseph B Geoghegan in a version published in 1876.

I was not inclined to credit Geoghegan with involvement in the Molly version of 'Cockles and Mussels'. However, I have now located a Google Books snippet from 'The Ladies' Treasury' for 1882, where a reply to a query about the song 'Cockles and Mussels', beginning 'For dear Dublin City, Where the girls are so pretty', stated that it was 'by Mr Geoghegan, published by B Williams, Paternoster Row'.

Of course it is possible that the magazine was confusing the Jim the Mussel Man version with the Molly Malone one. But given Geoghegan's Dublin origins and genius for producing songs which were mistaken for traditional works, I am taking another look at the possibility that he wrote both versions of 'Cockles and Mussels'. Any comments, or has anyone ever come across the B Williams version mentioned above?

My evolving webpage on the song is at
http://homepage.eircom.net/~seanjmurphy/irhismys/molly.htm

Sean Murphy