VANDALS have targeted Dublin's Molly Malone statue after the sculpture was daubed with paint.
The chest of the sculpture, which is located on Dublin's Suffolk Street, appeared to have been stained with a black substance.
It is unclear why the statue was targeted, although it appears the damage was done some time between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Dublin City Council said they were working to ensure the popular landmark was quickly restored to its former glory.
Tourists gathered at the popular statue on Wednesday (Image: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie)"We can confirm that the Molly Malone statue has been vandalised with black paint," they said.
"We will be removing the paint as soon as possible."
The statue was created in 1988 for Dublin's millennium celebrations and was originally located on nearby Grafton Street.
It was moved to its current position outside the former St Andrew's Church in 2014 to make way for the construction of new Luas tracks.
According to Visit Dublin, the city's official tourism information website, the statue is affectionately nicknamed The Tart with the Cart by locals.
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