Molly Malone statue 'perfectly safe', says Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council has said the Molly Malone statue on Suffolk Street is perfectly safe and "well fixed in place".
Yesterday, records released by the council showed that an inspection of the statue found that the entire sculpture was unstable with multiple broken fittings.
A report by expert metalworkers - Bush Park Ironworks - showed that two of the pins that held Molly in place were completely destroyed.
However, DCC Arts Officer Ray Yeaters said this morning that following extensive tests, city engineers have verified that the statue "isn't going anywhere".
He said the tests included pushing out the statue and placing weight against it.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Yeates said: "It was done with a scope. The engineers place it in between the plinth and the ground itself. 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, [a] small bit of vibration because of the amount of people who've been kind of leaning against the statue, but it's completely safe."
Mr Yeates said that in the long term the council might place liquid concrete into the plinth to further stabilise it.
The inspection by Bushy Park Ironworks was carried out the council decided Molly Malone needed a revamp because of ongoing damage, due to the statue's cleavage being rubbed by visitors leading to noticeable discolouration of the bronze on her chest.
The tradition of rubbing the famous fishmonger's breasts for luck is believed to have begun around 2012 and is thought to have been instigated by an imaginative tour guide.
Mr Yeates said the council is attempting to understand why so many visitors want to put their hands on the statue and how to prevent this from happening.
He said the council may have to accept that this is behaviour is something that happens with statues around the world, and carry out repairs while leaving the statue where is it.
He said there are a number of options to be considered, including putting a protective structure around it or moving it indoors.
"The first option would be to leave it there and probably do nothing except carry out repairs. Just accept that this behaviour is something that occurs worldwide, with statues throughout the world.
"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.
"And then the big option would be to move it, perhaps move it indoors. However, I think that we just need probably the week to discuss with people, talk to tourists and everybody else who is interacting with statue and see what the options are."
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