The famous statue of Molly Malone resembles a woman in a long dress pushing a cart in central Dublin. It was unveiled in 1988 to celebrate the city’s millennium on Grafton Street before being moved to Suffolk Street around 2014. The figure is supposed to portray the woman in the city’s unofficial anthem of “Cockles and Muscles.” The simple folk song is about Molly Malone, a fish merchant like the rest of her family, but she dies young from fever. She’s been a symbol of Irish pride and a reminder of the hardships the country has overcome. This attention led her to become a popular tourist attraction for visitors, both Irish and foreigners.
Once images and videos of this statue started to appear online in 2022, it became a media sensation, but not for a good reason. Other tourist attractions, like the Blarney Stone, are meant to be touched for good luck, but Molly’s statue was rusted everywhere except for her breasts. People all across the globe started to vocalize how degrading and disgusting the normalized custom was. Instead of taking a photo with her, tourists were rubbing the statue of a young woman’s breasts for good luck. This sensation began to reach media outlets in Ireland as well as overseas. Thousands were outraged and began to stop people in public from participating in the long-running tradition.
Numerous women were instead posting videos on different online platforms holding Molly Malone’s hand instead of her breasts out of respect and protection for her. Blatantly demonstrating how even a statue of a woman isn’t able to get respect. Tourists and influencers tried to guide things in a positive direction, encouraging future tourists visiting Dublin to hold her hand instead. Women during the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade held Molly Malone’s hand and covered her bust with flowers or necklaces. The city had Gardaí (Police Force) on each side of the statue during the month of May 2025 to halt citizens from violating the statue in an attempt to educate visitors. Even a young woman at Trinity College Dublin, who often busks on Suffolk Street, started a campaign titled “Leave Molly mAlone.”
After continuous attention, Dublin City Council decided to refurbish the statue in early October 2025. It was cleaned, and the bronze was restored to her chest, then unveiled on October 10-11 of 2025. The once humiliating and derogatory tradition was starting to be put to rest. Media outlets and Irish citizens were satisfied with the refurbishment as well as the acknowledgement from the city, and started to move on. The media posts have since ground to a halt, and news stations have stopped reporting it.
The one thing I’ve yet to see covered is the statue now, after the restoration. The media is often fast-moving, and viral pieces or stories start to be forgotten, but Molly Malone shouldn’t be. As of late 2026, the statue is already starting to fade on her breasts once again. As much as the online feminist movement tried to change the tradition to holding her hand, it hasn’t worked, and the practice is still occurring. We are in a so-called “time of equality and progression,” but these repeated small acts show how far we still need to come. The tradition of Molly Malone is just one example of misogyny embedded in our history and society. Attention needs to remain on stories like this so people are held accountable and continue to shed light on normalized sexism.
Her Campus – Chapman University
Erin Sweeney – Staff Writer
@hercampuschapman
https://www.hercampus.com/school/chapman/even-statues-of-women-arent-safe/
Éire Literature 