The mother of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, Philomena Lynott, has died.
The 88-year-old passed away this morning after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Confirming the news, Hot Press said she made the decision not to go through the “full rigours of chemotherapy”.
She knew that the condition was terminal and lived with that awareness in recent times, managing the illness as best she could with great bravery
Philomena was the author of the best-selling memoir My Boy, which told the story of Phil Lynott's life from his upbringing in Manchester and Dublin.
She departed from Dublin to work in England after leaving school, but her plans were forever changed when she became pregnant with Phil, whose father was Cecil Parris, from Guyana.
Philomena gave birth to Philip in a hospital in West Bromwich, beginning a turbulent phase of her life, during which she would have two more children, Philomena (born March 1951) and Leslie (born June 1952) – the full story behind which was revealed for the first time in the second edition of My Boy.
Philip, of course, came to Dublin while still a young boy, and went on to become one of Ireland’s most revered songwriters and musicians in a series of bands from The Black Eagles to Thin Lizzy and finally Grand Slam, and as a solo artist.
It was one of the great joys of Philomena’s life that she succeeded in her campaign to have a statue of Philip erected in Dublin. The statue is located on Harry Street, just off Dublin’s Grafton Street.
“She was a formidable and brilliant woman,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said.
“I am really proud that we were able to participate in telling her remarkable story. Because she was indeed a remarkable person. She was hugely determined and courageous – and absolutely committed to the campaign to ensure that Philip’s memory was kept alive and his legacy celebrated”
