Black roses laid to mark anniversary of Lynott’s death
His mother Philomena was among hundreds of people from Ireland, the US, Scandinavia and further afield who gathered in St Fintan’s Cemetery to show their admiration for the songwriter had not faded over the past two decades.
Philomena said people from as far afield as Japan and Rio de Janeiro had called to her home to reminisce with her.
The singer’s grave was instantly recognisable as roses in memory of the band’s 1979 famed album Black Rose were placed on the slab, others placed guitar plectrums and bouquets of flowers for the man credited with paving the way for Irish rock music.
Hundreds of fans travel to the capital from Belgium, Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Britain, USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, and beyond for the annual Vibe for Philo tribute concert held in Dublin and various venues in January.
A message from a fan, Brian, on the Roisín Dubh Trust website said: “Still miss you, Phil.”
Another Thin Lizzy fan, Rob, said: “You’re still the main man Phil. Gone but definitely not forgotten.”
Born in Birmingham and brought up in Dublin, Lynott started playing in groups in the Crumlin area before forming Thin Lizzy in 1969.
The group’s catalogue of hit songs is headlined by The Boys Are Back in Town, Whiskey in the Jar, Jailbreak and Dancing in the Moonlight.
After the band broke up, Lynott embarked on a solo career and died in 1986, at the age of 36, from heart failure as the result of a drugs overdose.
Thin Lizzy musicians Brian Robertson and Eric Bell had promised fans a host of memories as they lifted their guitars together last night for the Vibe for Philo concert on Dublin’s Vicar Street stage.
They play at the Savoy in Cork tonight.
The Roisín Dubh Trust is one of the groups working to ensure the iconic figure is remembered on Dublin streets. The trust first approached Dublin City Council in January 2000 to get a statue erected to honour the rock star and plans were approved by the council in February 2001.
A life-sized statue was unveiled off Dublin’s Grafton Street last August - a day his mother said was the proudest of her life.
At the launch, she said: “I love him forever and I will miss him forever. Life is awful without him but knowing all these people are loving him the way they do, they are like a big woolly cloak around me. They write to me telling me how much they love him and miss him. I am not alone in missing him.”
Philomena said her son had changed the course of the Irish music industry, opening up great opportunities for up and coming young bands, including U2.
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