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Molly Malone’s bronze statue was discolored by people touching it
The Molly Malone statue in Dublin should be protected to prevent the public from “violating” by groping the sculpture’s breasts, campaigners said.
Tilly Clipwell noted that bronze artwork has been explored many times over the years, causing discoloration in her breasts.
The 23-year-old student said he has seen “unpleasant behavior” on the statue multiple times in recent years while bustkeking.
Dublin City Council says it is considering campaigners’ calls to repair the discolored statue and raise it to a higher pedestal.
The council also confirmed that the process is in the process of asking tourism companies to stop customers from touching the statue.
Ms Clipwell said that passersby groping the breasts of the carved carving and that some tourists “set a really bad example for the younger generation.”
“It caused me so much, I just had to stop it,” she told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster program.
“The fact that this icon has become immortalized by statues, but is reduced to her breasts seems so wrong.”
Who was Molly Malone?
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The statue was originally located on Grafton Street in Dublin, but later moved.
The Molly Malone statue was built in honor of the legendary Dublin woman who sold shellfish in the Irish capital city 37 years ago.
It is not clear whether the characters are based on real or fictional people, but Molly Malone’s figure has now represented part of Dublin’s working class community.
She is also the subject of traditional folk songs, telling the story of a fishmonger’s daughter who sold fishmongers and mussels from wheelbarrows.
According to the colorful lyrics, Molly died of a fever, but has since returned as a ghost, still driving a wheelbarrow down the city streets.
Much of Dublin’s public artwork is commonly referred to by rhyming nicknames, and for years the statue of Molly Malone was known as “The Tart of the Cart.”
The name was partly attributed to the suggestion that Molly Malone worked as a fishmonger during the day and as a sex worker at night.
The statue was first built in 1988 on Grafton Street in Dublin and was created by Jeanne Lynne Hart, a well-known bronze sculptor.
We then moved to nearby St Andrews Street to accommodate the construction of the tram.
Ms Clipwell, studying at Trinity College in Dublin, has accepted that many believe she is doing nothing wrong because “it’s just a statue.”
However, she said that groping plagues her because sculpture is “one of the few expressions of women in Irish culture.”
“You can imagine the Stagdos coming in. It’s actually a disgusting behaviour no matter what kind of object or person you are dealing with.”
The statue is already on a small pedestal, but Ms Clipwell wants to raise it high to encourage respect and prevent people from screaming for the statue.
She points out that Dublin’s male statues are “on a high platform that reflects their status.”
The campaigner admitted that she wanted changes to the artwork that has become a landmark in Dublin, but she insisted that change was necessary.
“She has already been violated and it is shown by the gold discoloration on her breasts, so the original statue is not the same.”
Ms Clipwell also lobbys to remarry the entire sculpture “so that her breasts are not a different colour from her others.”
A Dublin City Council spokesperson told BBC News ni that “retaliation and limbs are considered.” They are waiting for a cost estimate.
“A full report will be made to the Council’s Strategic Policy Committee in April,” she added.
Why do people rub the Molly Malone statue?
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City myths have appeared over the years, claiming that touching the breasts of statues somehow brings good fortune.
It is a myth perpetuated by several tourism companies – a practice that Ms Clipwell wants to tighten up on the Dublin City Council.
One example of this was still shown on the Spanish-based tourist website Viabam on Tuesday morning.
Regarding the statue’s features, the website states:
“And it seems to work because it is one of the most sought after and filmed monuments in Dublin.”
When contacted by BBC News NI, a Viabam spokesman said the article was written several years ago and “I’m not going to make anyone angry.”
“We had no idea about this campaign, so there’s absolutely no problem deleting that information,” they added.
Clipwell said he hopes customers will “actively block” visitors from touching Molly Malone’s statue.
However, both male and female tourists were filmed by news agents when they touched the statue at St. Patrick’s Day Festival on Monday.
The campaigner said the “suspected busty dress” on the sculpture is considered “a green card for this action.”
She added that practice is also popular in other European tourist spots, including a statue of Shakespeare Juliet in Verona.
