At this morning’s meeting of Dublin City Council’s Public Art Advisory group north side Fine Geal and Labour Dublin City Councillors Breen and McLoughlin blocked the proposal to explore the possibility of moving the Molly Malone statue to Dublin’s north side street market on Moore Street.

The Molly Malone statue must be moved from its current location at the end of Grafton Street to allow for the new LUAS cross city line. Initially it was proposed that the statue would be put in storage until Cllr Mary Fitzptrick (FF) and Cllr Niall Ring (Ind), while working to protect the National Monument and street market on Moore Street, proposed the statue be re-located to Moore Street.

Moore Street has been a traditional street market for decades. Work has recently been undertaken to give the street a face lift and the relocation of the popular tourist attracting Molly Malone statue would have given the street a welcome boost.

Instead the statue will now remain in the Grafton Street area which is already benefiting from a €14million upgrade, popular tourist attractions Trinity College, Book of Kells, high-end retail shopping, the Phil Lynott statue, quality bars and restaurants. In addition, and in case all this is not enough, Dublin City Council is currently inviting submissions for new public art work for Grafton street with  €10,000’s to spend!

For decades the north side of Dublin city has been neglected by Dublin City Council and so it is deeply disappointing that when a cost neutral opportunity to give a small lift to the north side arises it is blocked because of Fine Geal and Labour City Councillors own narrow political interests. Fine Geal and Labour City Councillors are so fearful of a resurgent Fianna Fail and increasing support for Independents they blocked  a good proposal,  that would have some real benefit to Moore Street,  purely because it was their competitions idea.  How depressing is that?  Mary