After an absence from the streets of Dublin, the Molly Malone statue is unveiled at a new location.
Dubliners and tourists assemble to see the Molly Malone statue return to the city streets after a two-month absence. The most famous Dublin street trader has wheeled her wheelbarrow from the bottom of Grafton Street to nearby Suffolk Street to enable the ongoing cross-city Luas works.
The statue by Irish sculptor Jeanne Rynhart, was originally unveiled in 1988 and has become one of the most popular tourist sites in the city. The newly cleaned and waxed statue is unveiled outside the Dublin Tourist Office by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe. Among those welcoming the return of Molly Malone is five-year-old Maya O’Mahony.
Director of communications with the Luas Cross City project Grainne Mackin reports that since the statue was removed, they have been inundated with requests,
When is she coming back, where is she coming back?
The Luas Cross City project aims to minimise the impact the works are having on the city so,
Getting Molly back is an example of that.
According to 1916 Walking Tour guide Lorcan Collins the Molloy Malone statue is a huge tourist attraction, and he believes the new location is a perfect fit.
Donnacha O'Dulaing, contract manager from the heritage section of the Luas Cross City project describes the welding issues and cracks in the bronze work that required restoration prior to the unveiling.
Once the Luas works are completed it is expected the Molly Malone sculpture will return to its old Grafton Street plinth.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 July 2014. The reporter is Dyane Connor.
