Molly Malone statue 'violated' by groping

Dublin's Molly Malone statue should be protected to prevent members of the public from "violating" it by groping the sculpture's breasts, a campaigner has said.

Tilly Cripwell pointed out that the bronze artwork has been groped so many times over the years that its breasts have become discoloured.

The 23-year-old student said she has witnessed "disgusting behaviour" at the statue many times while busking beside it in recent years.

Dublin City Council has said it is considering the campaigner's call to repair the discoloured statue and raise it on to a higher plinth.

The council also confirmed it is in the process of asking tourist companies to deter their customers from touching the statue.

Ms Cripwell said the groping of the sculpture's breasts by passers by and some tourists "sets a really bad example to younger generations".

"It triggered me so much, I just had to put a stop to it," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"The fact that this icon is immortalised in a statue but reduced to her breasts just seems so wrong."

The Molly Malone statue was erected 37 years ago in tribute to a legendary Dublin woman who sold shellfish in the streets of the Irish capital.

It is not clear if the character is based on a real or fictional person, but the figure of Molly Malone has come to represent part of Dublin's working class community.

She was also the subject of a traditional folk song, which tells the story of a fishmongers' daughter who sold cockles and mussels from a wheelbarrow.

According to the colourful lyrics, Molly died of a fever but then returned as a ghost, still wheeling her wheelbarrow through the city's streets.

Many public artworks in Dublin are popularly referred to by rhyming nicknames and for years, the Molly Malone statue was known as "the tart with the cart".

This name was in part due to suggestions that Molly Malone worked as a fishmonger by day and as a sex worker by night.

The statue was first erected in Dublin's Grafton Street in 1988, created by the renowned bronze sculptor, Jeanne Rynhart.

It was later moved to nearby St Andrews' Street to accommodate the construction of a tram line.

Ms Cripwell, who studies at Trinity College in Dublin, accepts that many people think they are doing nothing wrong because "it's just a statue".

But she said the groping annoys her because the sculpture is "one of the few representations of women in Irish culture".

"You can imagine the stag dos that come along and it's actually just disgusting behaviour, no matter what kind of object or person you're dealing with."

The statue is already on a small plinth but Ms Cripwell wants it raised higher to encourage respect and to prevent people clamouring over the statue so easily.

She points out that the statues of male figures in Dublin "are all on high platforms reflecting their status".

The campaigner acknowledged that she is asking for alterations to be made to an artwork that has become a Dublin landmark, but she argued change is necessary.

"She already been violated and that's shown in the gold discoloration on her breasts, so the original statue is not the same as it was."

Ms Cripwell is also lobbying for the whole sculpture to be repatinated "so that her breasts aren't a different colour than the rest of her".

Dublin City Council's spokeswoman told BBC News NI the request for "repatination and securing the plinth is being considered" and they are awaiting cost quotations.

"A full report will be made to the council's Strategic Policy Committee in April," she added.

An urban myth has emerged over the years which claims that touching the statue's breasts will somehow bring good luck.

It is a myth that has been perpetuated by some tourist companies - a practice that Ms Cripwell wants Dublin City Council to clamp down on.

One example of this was still visible on a Spain-based tourism website, Viabam, on Tuesday morning.

In a feature about the statue, the website read: "They say that if you take a photo with her while touching her breasts, you will return to visit the city.

"And it seems to work, as it is one of the most sought-after and photographed monuments in Dublin."

When contacted by BBC News NI, Viabam's spokesperson said the article was written a couple of years ago and it was "never our intention to offend anyone".

"We were totally unaware of this campaign and we have absolutely no problem in removing that information," they added.

Ms Cripwell said she wants tourist firms to "actively deter" their customers from touching the Molly Malone statue.

But several tourists - both male and female - were photographed by news agencies as they touched the statue during the St Patrick's Day festival on Monday.

The campaigner said the sculpture's "allegedly busty dress" was viewed as "a green card for this behaviour".

She added the practice is also popular at other European tourist sites, including at the statue of Shakespeare's Juliet in Verona.