Description

Philip Lynott Sculpture. Sanguine on board. 1998.

Study for a proposed sculpture of my friend the late Philip Lynott of Thin Lizzy.

Back in 1998, it was announced that there was to be an open competition for the design and execution of a new sculpture of black Irish rock icon Philip Lynott of Thin Lizzy.

Philip died tragically of a mixture of drugs, alcohol, and despair in 1986 but his memory was kept alive by Thin Lizzy fans, friends, and admirers worldwide. Even the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to his influence as did so many others in the music industry.

Philip was marvelously charismatic and loved to strut his stuff down Grafton -he loved the mostly polite, quiet adulation, he laughed at the occasional shriek and boy, did he love to get the girls giggling and pointing over at him. Above all he loved the vibe of 70s Dublin and he loved the vibe of Grafton street and the young people, all decked out in their colourful best and he milked it. Not for ego, simply for the people, the vibe from being home in Dublin and to be so beautifully acknowledged, I believe, gave him strength and renewed his prodigious energy. Dublin was home, he loved it and it loved him back tenfold and still does to this day.

I eventually decided to withdraw my submission for the sculpture for reasons which I go into detail in this blog post:

Philip Lynott Sculpture Post