A famous statue in Ireland will soon have bodyguards around it following a successful campaign from a uni student. Tilly Cripwell would frequently busked beside the statue of Molly Malone in Dublin and noticed the “misogynistic behaviour” displayed by tourists.

Molly is the subject of a folk song about a woman who sold cockles and mussels from a wheelbarrow on the city’s streets and died of a fever. Though fictional, she has come to represent part of Dublin’s working-class community.  Over the years, tourists have rubbed her statue's chest for ‘good luck’, discolouring it. Last year, Ms Cripwell started the #LeaveMollymAlone campaign to raise awareness of the "overarching and ongoing fight for women’s rights". She said: "I was motivated to start the campaign because I saw so many counts of awful behaviour and examples of behaviour towards women while I was busking next to the statue.

"I was seeing up to 60 people an hour touching the statue, on her breasts, groping her, behaving in a rowdy and inappropriate way.

"I thought, I love busking here, but if I’m going to keep on, I need to stop this behaviour, so I started the campaign that evening."

The 23-year-old student even rewrote the folk song about Molly for her busking performances, adding verses that say: "Now no one can save her from the people who claim her, and I want to scream, 'Just leave Molly alone.'"

The council will launch a week-long trial of stewards guarding the statue, and has also pledged to repair the discolouration on the statue’s chest.

A spokesperson said said: "Dublin City Council do not want anyone to touch any work of art whether indoors or outdoors to avoid damage and costly repairs.

"The low plinth height and space around the statue allows crowds to congregate easily and the Molly Malone statue is a feature of tours given by tour guides."

"A pilot week of stewarding will occur in May to begin educating those who are interacting with the statue and requesting they do not touch the statue or step on the plinth."

Dublin City Council said that while ideas like moving the statue or adding railings would be expensive, "all options are under review".

Ms Cripwell said she is "thrilled with this progress" but called the steward scheme "short-sighted and quite short-term".

The student has suggested that the statue be placed on a taller plinth that people cannot step onto, the discolouration restored, and a plaque installed to explain Molly’s legacy.

She added: "It is a great representation of how community action, responsible tourism and heritage conservation can come together to safeguard the city’s cultural treasures and values.

"I hope that it brings further positive representation of women in culture, leading to good examples around treatment of women on a broader social level."