The Molly Malone statue should be removed from her Dublin City Centre position to protect her from ongoing vandalism attacks, according to a former lord mayor of the city.

It emerged this morning that the iconic statue had been vandalised once again– the fourth attack in the last three months.

The latest attack saw green paint and brown sauce splashed across her chest.

Previous incidents have seen the words ‘Please don’t T.Y.’ and ‘7 Years Bad Luck’ written across her chest.

The Molly Malone statue on Suffolk Street vandalised with the words, 'Please don't T.Y.', 17/09/2023. Image: James Wilson/Newstalk.

On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Dublin Councillor and former Lord Mayor Christie Burke said it is time to move the statue for her own protection.

“In order to remove that graffiti from the statue, a specialist crew have to be brought in, which is quite costly to the taxpayer,” he said.

He said the statue has been repeatedly targeted and it appears this latest attack involved paint once again.

“It appears to me that day has come and the time has come to remove it – absolutely.

“As I say, it costs a lot of money to the taxpayer and you're going to remove it and it's going to come back and come back and come back and come back.”

The Molly Malone statue in Dublin City Centre after suffering vandalism for a second time in a week. 22-08-2023. Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

Cllr Burke said it is now “our duty as public representatives and indeed citizens of the city” to find a more secure home for the statue.

“What would be more secure than maybe a spot outside Pearse Street Garda Station, or indeed a section in the forecourt of the Lord Mayor's house in the Mansion House?” he said.

“It’s absolutely embarrassing and we had this with Luke Kelly as you know in the past and thankfully that has stopped thus far.

“People are outraged. It's scandalous to see and to think that that type of behaviour is going on.

“At the end of the day, part of our culture - part of our history – is being destroyed and it's up to the City Council now – hopefully that they will come to an agreement and an arrangement to move that to a more secure place.”

Molly Malone

Also on the show, Dublin taxi driver James said Molly should remain where she is.

“It's a landmark for, the vast, vast majority of especially American tourists,” he said.

“You know, it's right next to the Dublin Tourism Office there at the top of Andrew Street so you know, it's almost part and parcel of that office there.

“People go there and you know they start a lot of walking tours there.”

Landmark

He said the culprits should be forced to pay the full price of the cleaning if the Gardaí ever catch them.

“If they get hit with a €10,000 or €15,000 bill, they’ll think twice about doing this then,” he said.

Main image shows Molly Malone after the second time she was vandalised, 19-09-2023. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews