Molly’s spare head to be auctioned

A ‘spare’ head of Molly Malone is to go on auction next month valued at around €30,000.

The ‘spare’ head of the iconic Dublin statue was casted 23 years ago from the same mould as the original. The two were casted at the same time, just in case one of the moulds had a default. The ‘spare head’ had been kept in Bantry, Co. Cork by its sculptress Jeanne Rynhart.

Molly's head is now being sold to "free up some space" in Rynhart’s studio and is the first time the sculptress will be showcased in the Irish auction market. The statute was originally erected in 1988 to celebrate Dublin’s millennium year.

As loved and iconic as the statue is to Dubliner’s, it has had its fair share of controversy. In the past the statute of Molly Malone has been nick named ‘The Tart With The Cart’ due to her ‘low-cut’ dress and the fact she is ‘well-endowed’.

However sculptress Rynhart has defended her work of art by saying, ‘Molly’s healthy diet of fish and strenuous daily exercise routine pushing a heavy cart around would have assisted her development into a fine strong girl’.

Molly’s spare head can be yours for an estimated €30,000 at Mealy’s Summer Fine and Decorative Art Sale in their showroom in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny on July 5.

- Oisin Collins