I finally got my hands on a statuette of the Lady on The Rock, and this inspired me some deeper research on the meaning of this ubiquitous statue that is such part of Dublin inner city culture, and here's what I found.
From Wikipedia:
The Lady On The Rock, also referred to as the White Lady, is a well-known plaster statue commonly seen in the windows of numerous homes in Dublin city. Its popularity has sparked various theories regarding its meaning and significance.
The statue depicts a reclining woman draped in fabric. Initially created as a clay model by artist Harold Gardiner around 1993, it was later cast in fiberglass by Edward Loughman of RPM Supplies. Gardiner had the mold made to gift the statue to friends and family. After Gardiner passed away in 1995, Loughman cleared out Gardiner's workshop at the request of his widow and took the cast of the Lady. Loughman then sold the cast to Vincent Doran of Dublin Mouldings. Since then, the statue has been produced and sold by Dublin Mouldings, a shop and workshop located on Parnell Street.
You can check out their website here, but unfortunately they do not offer online sale or shipping...so give them a visit if you'd like to buy your own: https://www.dublinmouldings.ie/
The statue's popularity has given rise to numerous theories about the Lady's significance. She is most commonly found on the north side of the city and in areas like the Liberties. A home may often display several statues, one in each window.[3] Some suggest that the statue in a window indicates a brothel, the availability of drugs for sale, or that the resident has paid protection money. Others believe she symbolizes Molly Malone. There is also speculation that she might represent the Virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene.
But who's she, like really?
On my quest to buy one of this statuette I got as well to talk to many people, all with a different opinion on who the statue represents: she's a beautiful lady, she reveals the full length of a leg, gracefully bent at the knee. A wrap slips from her shoulders, cascading down her chest and between her upper leg. She gazes out, alluring yet distant, from the windowsills of numerous Dublin homes.
She’s a white plaster statuette often referred to as The Lady on the Rock.
Once you notice her, you'll see her everywhere.
Who is she? Why is she so prevalent in Dublin?
The Lady on the Rock is known by many names. Some call her the White Lady or the Lady in the Window. Some associate her with specific neighborhoods, like the Lady of Cabra or Crumlin, north and south, respectively, of the River Liffey, which divides the city. Others claim her for a broader area: Our Lady of the Northside. Many locals don’t know she has a name, but they recognize her as a phenomenon rarely seen outside Dublin.
A bit of a legend?
The statuette began appearing in the working-class areas of Dublin, such as Cabra and Crumlin, in the late 1990s. As she became more prevalent over the 2000s, so did the legends surrounding her.
One story describes a shipwreck off the west coast of Ireland, where all perished except for a woman who washed ashore, unclothed.
Another tale offers a contemporary maritime narrative: a freighter lost a crate of the statuettes, allegedly mass-produced in China, to the Irish Sea, and they were later sold in discount stores. Catholic imaginations have speculated whether she could represent the Virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene. Or perhaps she is Molly Malone, a 17th-century beauty wrapped in myth, celebrated as a fishmonger but defamed as a courtesan.
The presence of the Lady on the Rock in inner-city working-class neighborhoods has led to some dubious and sarcastic suspicions. Urban legends suggest she serves as a covert signal indicating the availability of drugs or sex at her location. One taxi driver expanded on this idea: only if she is facing the left does it imply drugs can be purchased there. In certain homes, she can be seen on every possible windowsill. The more statues in the windows? Well, that implies more women in the brothel.
However, the Lady on the Rock has much less sensational beginnings, as Jessie Ward O’Sullivan revealed in her 2010 short documentary, The Lady on the Rock. Local artist Harold Gardiner came up with the concept in the early 1990s, with craftsman Edward Loughman assisting in creating her plaster mold. Gardiner sold the statues to a few friends before his death, and she might have been forgotten if Vincent Doran, a professional plasterer, hadn’t purchased her from Loughman while clearing out Gardiner’s workshop.
Doran’s shop, Dublin Mouldings, displays busts of Shakespeare and Elvis next to the Lady on the Rock. Doran and his son create her from silicon fiberglass using a two-piece mold in just a few hours. They tidy up her seams and sell her for 20 quid. Occasionally, a painter will add some color to her. “People enjoy seeing them in the windows. They look good,” Doran comments.
A person buys one, some neighbors fancy their own, others want to fit in, a trend emerges. I visited some houses with Ladies in their windows; all declined to talk, my curiosity, perhaps, seeming as suspect as others have viewed their taste in interior design.
In the 1960s, Dublin saw a similar trend where families placed white horse statues in fanlights above Georgian doors. According to O’Neill, these families were affluent and Protestant. The Lady on the Rock might be the working-class and Irish Catholic response to this trend.
For some, the identity of the Lady on the Rock will ultimately be just that: a trend. “She’s a real-life meme,” says Ruth Keating, who sells O’Neill’s ornaments at a local gallery. “An interesting thread in Dublin’s day-to-day,” but ultimately a short-lived icon.
However, for O’Neill, the Lady on the Rock is “a real symbol of Dublin,” and an appropriate one at that: A simple white plaster mould, reshaped and colored by Dublin’s many stories and identities.
Now, after being so fascinated about the Lady on The Rock statue, I had to give her my personal tribute. As a new Irish citizen, adopted Dubliner, I feel I want to be part of its wonderful culture, so I decided to paint a portrait of the Lady, in oils on canvas.
You can find the portrait on my webshop: https://www.irishfarmart.com/product-page/the-lady-on-the-rock-dublin
And see the making process on my latest Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO8Ea4Ddrh0
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