An inspection of one of Dublin's most famous landmarks has found that the Molly Malone statue is severely unstable.
The iconic statue was inspected by a team of expert metal workers who found that two of the pins that held Molly in place on Suffolk Street were completely destroyed. The statue therefore was only being held in place by two pins in her wheelbarrow.
The report by Dublin City Council says the damage is a result of “the abuse she [was] receiving on a daily basis”
An email said: “The two fixing pins below her body have come loose or have cracked.”
“As a matter of urgency, these pins need to be rewelded or replaced but to do that, the stone facing around the plinth will have to be removed so we can get at the pins.”
However, DCC Arts Officer Ray Yeates clarified on RTE's Morning Ireland that the statue is not a danger and "isn't going anywhere".
Engineers tested this by pushing out the statue and placing weight against it.
"So it's very stable," Mr Yeates said. "[A] small bit of vibration because of the amount of people who've been kind of leaning against the statue, but it's completely safe."
Yeates added that in the long term the council may place liquid concrete into the plinth to further stabilise it.
The inspection took place as a result of Dublin City Council's plans to revamp the statue after years of complaints from locals about people touching Molly’s chest.
The repeated touching has polished down the area leaving her chest shiny in comparison to the rest of her body.
In an email sent to Bushy Park Ironworks in January. The council was looking for a quote for the statue's restoration, particularly in the chest area.
The email reads: “As you are aware, the statue has been subject to damage in its patination several times over the years resulting from repeated touching of the statue.”
“We are working on a more long-term solution to the issue, but I feel that it would help the visibility of the statue if the patination of the bronze could be restored on the statue’s chest area.”
In response to this, Bushy Park Ironworks said they could easily clean, wax and restore the “the top edge of her dress” as well as erect railings during the process.
However the more concerning issue was how unstable Molly currently was.
When asked how long the project would take and whether the process could be expedited, the ironworks estimated it would take one to two weeks depending on what was found after the granite plinth was removed.
Restoring the chest area would only take a few days depending on weather.
Dublin City Council have estimated the project will be completed by the end of May but would not comment on the cost of the restoration as it has not yet been “fully established.”
Speaking about the councils long term plans for the statue Yeates said: "The first option would be to leave it there and probably do nothing except carry out repairs. Just accept that this behaviour is something that occurs worldwide, with statues throughout the world.
"The second thing would be to perhaps put a structure around it or to raise it. That's expensive, and could increase risk if people felt they had to climb up on the plinth or climb over the railings.
"And then the big option would be to move it, perhaps move it indoors. However, I think that we just need probably the week to discuss with people, talk to tourists and everybody else who is interacting with statue and see what the options are."
