'I'd rather touch my wife's breasts' - public divided over Molly Malone stewards

Irish Daily Mirror

07-05-2025

Stewards stationed next to the Molly Malone statue to stop tourists from touching her bust left sightseers divided.
The Irish Mirror went to Suffolk Street in Dublin on Tuesday and spoke with visitors about their thoughts on the new measures which kicked in on Monday.
As part of a pilot programme which will run until the end of the week, the wardens will stand adjacent to the effigy of the famous fishmonger and intervene if any tourists go to feel her bust.
Dianne Young from Texas said she completely supports the new rules and thinks it's 'perverted' that some rub her boobs.
She told The Irish Mirror: 'I don't blame people for not wanting the statue to be touched.
'People shouldn't touch the statue, it's a work of art. I think it's wrong and if they have to put a railing around it, that's what you have to do.'
Her brother Chris Young, who is from Columbus in Ohio, joked: 'Maybe, they could try and feel her bum but I don't think they'd be able to get to it through all that brass. Too much brass on the ass.'
But Chris said he agreed with the measures and urged others to 'show a little class' and insisted 'there's no need' to do it.
But Karl Heinz- Hierzegger said he's been to Ireland on more than 75 occasions and explained that every time he comes he pays a visit to the Molly Malone statue.
He believes people should be able to touch the sculpture. He also rejects the assertion that it's 'perverted' and said it's done for luck.
The German quipped: 'I would rather touch my wife's breasts.'
He said it's similar to the statue of Juliet in Verona where tourists rub her breasts for luck.
Meanwhile, Australian husband and wife Norm and Kathleen McCosker believe having stewards next to the statue was political correctness gone mad.
They said before they jetted off to Ireland, they were told that they needed to rub her breasts for 'good luck'.
When asked what she thought about the stewards, Kathleen said: 'It's overkill, it's breaking a tradition.'
She added: 'We come from Australia and one of the things we were told to do when we were in Dublin was to go and touch Molly Malone's boob for luck.'
Her husband Norm was told off by one of the stewards when he approached the statue and touched her breasts.
When asked why he did it, Norm explained: 'Because it's good luck … but now, you're not supposed to touch it so how are you supposed to get good luck?'
Also against the new rules was Rosalba Fernandez from Tenerife who said she wanted to touch the statue and didn't agree with the new rules.
Meanwhile, an employee at a H&M store directly across from the Molly Malone statue said she believed tourists shouldn't be touching the statue but disagreed with hiring stewards.
The young woman, who didn't want to be named, said: "I think there are better ways to protect the statue.
"They should raise the statue, I think that would be a much better way to protect the statue because realistically who is going to climb up six feet to grope a statue."
She added: 'Why spend the money (on stewards) when you get it raised once. It's going to end up costing more having stewards than just raising it."
Dublin City Council Arts Officer Ray Yeates said the wardens were in place to have a "conversation" with people about touching Molly Malone.
Speaking to BBC NI earlier this week, he said: "They're not guards or police, it's a gentle confrontation of the behaviour.
"Some people say, and they have a point to make, that it's being touched inappropriately.'
Mr Yates accepted that it was a"worldwide phenomenon that statues are touched or rubbed and it becomes a custom," but said some people have "made a good point where we're mimicking behaviour we don't want to see in public.
'It would be illegal in public, so why would we mimic it?"
Rubbing the famous fishmonger's breasts for luck is believed to have been thought up by a cheeky tour guide in 2012.
Since then, countless tourists and locals alike have groped the sculpture.
But Dublin City Council now says the practice has led to the stature becoming discoloured particularly around the neckline.
Meanwhile, Dublin City Historian in Residence Catherine Scuffil said evidence is growing that Molly Malone is actually real and not just a character in the famous Dublin song.
She said there is evidence which points to her being from the Liberties.
She also said she believes 'groping' the statue is not what the sculptor Jeanne Rynhart would have wanted and said people should give the statue more respect.
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