Controversy in Dublin: People Won't Stop Groping Large Breasted Statue of Molly Malone
In 1988 in Dublin, Ireland, a statue was unveiled. It was a statue of Molly Malone. A fictional, apparently large breasted woman who is the subject of a song that Wikipedia tells me is, "Dublin's unofficial anthem."
In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
She was a fishmonger
And sure, t'was no wonder
For so were her mother and father before
And they wheeled their barrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
She died of a fever
And sure, so one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
Now her ghost wheels her barrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh"
According to the song, Molly Malone was a humble fish saleswoman. She wheeled around her big wooden cart and sold cockles and mussels. There are no mentions of her double-D breasts in the song. Giving Molly Malone cannons was an artistic choice.
Richard Gardner. Shutterstock Images.Although the song is said to be 100% fictional, there was in fact a real-life fishmonger named Molly who lived in Dublin in the 17th century. Rumor has it, real-life Molly sold fish in the day, and was a sex worker (prostitute) by night. So over time, people combined the lives of "fictional song Molly" and "real life 17th century Molly"… then all of the sudden… Dublin's unofficial anthem is about Molly Malone the fishmonger prostitute.
So if you put two and two together, it stands to reason that the artist's decision to give Molly's statue bombs had something to do with the prostitution rumors. But allegedly that's not the case at all. According to the artist, in 17th century Dublin, public breastfeeding was all the rage. In 17th century Dublin, titties were "popped out all over the place".
Irish Historical Mysteries - Molly's statue was also clad with an extremely low-cut dress, on the grounds that as 'women breastfed publicly in Molly's time, breasts were popped out all over the place'
Very cool, Dublin. If it weren't for the smallpox, I'd have loved to be there. But regardless of why the artist sculpted Molly's chest the way he did, Molly's voluptuous cans only helped solidify the idea that she was a sex worker. So naturally, as time went on, it became common practice for men (and women) to give Molly's milk monsters a squeeze for good luck. People did it so much, that if you look very closely, you can see where some of the paint has been rubbed off.
But the Irish tradition of rubbing Molly's bazookas rubbed certain people the wrong way. That's where the controversy comes in. A woman named Trilly Cripwelll, who frequently busks next to the Molly Malone statue, has launched a "Leave Molly mAlone" campaign. She's advocating for the statue to be raised high off the ground, so that people won't be able to grope her so easily.
Independent - “The majority of people will touch her boobs for good luck, that’s a misogynistic tradition,” Ms Cripwell said.
“A lot of people clamour around her, kiss her on the cheek, kiss her boobs, it’s all inappropriate. It’s reducing her to this derision and not giving her the status of being a national treasure.
“I walk by the Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square every day. You don’t see people rubbing his crotch for good luck.
“With the Statue of David, if you were to grope him, people would feel that’s inappropriate and offensive. But when the same happens to Molly Malone, they don’t even think twice.
“When I see men and women touching the Molly Malone statue, their kids are looking at them. What example is this setting? Why is it a part of Irish culture?
If you ask me, her points about the Oscar Wilde statue and the Statue of David aren't entirely fair. If either of those male statues had significant bulges, or if the top halves of their shafts were exposed, I'm sure people would be sucking them off left and right. But I do agree with this activist busker to an extent. It's kinda fucked up that people get to grab Molly's knockers free of charge. That just anyone can walk up to Molly Malone, give her boobs a squeeze, and have good luck bestowed upon them. If we're going to concede that Molly Malone was in fact a prostitute, which is what everyone believes (considering she's a fictional character, I don't see how we could convince people otherwise). If people want to honk her honkers, the least they could do is pay for the privilege
Honestly, the solution to this problem is simple. If people want the good luck that comes with grabbing Molly Malone's tits, they should at minimum have to cough up a dollar. 17th century Molly Malone wasn't letting people grab her boobs for free. So why should her statue? What better way to honor a historic 17th century prostitute than by charging people to touch her. All the money will go to the city of Dublin. It's a win-win for everyone. Problem solved.