Dublin’s Molly Malone Statue is Being Rubbed Up the Wrong Way

Poor old Molly Malone.  When Kuriositas first reported on her (in our 2013 article Statues of Dublin and their Notorious Nicknames), the photos we were able to source at the time showed her untouched and unsullied. Apparently, shortly after, a tourist guide was “inspired” to tell people that rubbing her breasts would bring good luck.  As her more than ample bosom is well within groping distance, the sticky paws of countless tourists rubbed and rubbed and rubbed away at the carbonate patina which had given her an added aesthetic beauty and the sense of age (even though the statue only dates from 1988).  Now, instead of saying “look at the breasts on that statue”, people are much more likely to say “look at the statue on those breasts”.

Joking aside, Dublin City Council are now considering moving the statue if tourists do not desist from putting their grubby mitts on Molly’s tits. Sorryfor the informal language, I couldn’t resist that little rhyme – but you could imagine the real Molly paraphrasing those words as a retort if she was still around.  I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t have any unwanted hands on her mammary glands.  On a serious note, the patina on bronze statues, as well as adding to the overall aesthetic, can also help protect the metal underneath from further corrosion.  In fact if you look closely, you can see that the erosion is becoming a problem.

Repeated rubbing can permanently stain or alter bronze, especially in outdoor conditions. It's a mix of chemical staining and mechanical wear.  It isn’t a case of just leaving it for a patina to occur naturally again – the statue will need extensive and expensive (just can’t stop rhyming today) restoration work in order for Molly’s bits to once again resemble the rest of the piece.

Perhaps Dublin City Council should just accept that this is going to happen, and it happens to statues across the globe.  Poor old VictorNoir, interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris has had close to 150 years of people rubbing his trouser bulge. Below is the report on the Molly Malone statue by the Irish public service broadcaster RTE.