Behaviours at Molly Malone statue may have to be 'accepted', says Dublin City Council officer

BEHAVIOURS AT THE Molly Malone statue in the capital may have to be “accepted”, a Dublin City Council officer has said as the council considers its options for the future of the statue.

The maintenance of the statue has been a topic of conversation in recent years; tourists touching the Molly Malone statue on the area of her breasts has caused discolouration, with many locals also saying the action is disrespectful.

Visitors have also been climbing on the plinth that bears the statue and leaning up against it.

It was reported yesterday that an inspection found two of the pins holding the statue in place were destroyed “from the abuse” it was “receiving on a daily basis”.

Dublin City Council received the report from expert metalworkers after it contacted them to look into the possibility of restoration works on the statue.  

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland this morning, Dublin City Council Arts Officer Ray Yeates said the statue is “totally safe”.

“We respect the report, but we attended immediately when we received it, and city engineers have verified that the statue is not going anywhere. It’s well fixed in place,” Yeates said.

“There are more than two fixings. There’s about five, as far as I’m aware, under the cart and under the statue itself, so it’s very stable. Small bit of vibration because of the amount of people who’ve been leaning against the statue, but it’s it’s completely safe,” he said.

“In the long-term, it’s not an urgent matter, we probably will place liquid concrete into the plinth itself to further stabilise it.”

The council has hired stewards on a short-term pilot basis to try to discourage visitors from touching and climbing. 

“We have stewards at the statute this week who are having conversations with the public. We want to understand why this behavior is occurring and is it possible to prevent it,” Yeates said.

Dublin City Council is weighing up its options for how to manage the statue in the future.

“The first option would be to leave it there and probably do nothing except carry out repairs and just accept that this behavior is something that occurs worldwide with statues throughout the world,” Yeates said.

“The second thing would be to perhaps put a structure around it or to raise it. That’s expensive and could increase risk if people felt they had to climb up on the plinth or climb over the railings,” he said.

“And then the big option would be to move it, perhaps move it indoors. However, I think that we need the week to discuss with people, talk to tourists and everybody else who’s interacting with statue, and see what the options are.

“We’re waiting for the contractor to come in and repaint it before the end of May. That might be something we just have to do regularly and accept the behavior.”