Editing Luke Kelly

{{Short description|Irish folk singer}}
{{other people}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name             = Luke Kelly
| image            = Luke_Kelly_Dubliners.jpg
| alt              = Black and white picture of a man (with focus on torso, not a full length picture). He has goatee (beard) and curly hair, and is holding a banjo He is looking at the banjo with concentration. He is wearing a shirt and coat.
| caption          = Kelly in 1967
| image_size       = 
| background       = solo_singer
| birth_name       = 
| alias            = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1940|11|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place      = [[Sheriff Street]], Dublin, Ireland
| death_date       = {{Death date and age| 1984|01|30| 1940|11|17|df=yes}}
| death_place      = Dublin, Ireland
| instrument       = Vocals, [[banjo]], [[guitar]]
| genre            = [[Irish folk]]
| occupation       = {{hlist|Singer|folk musician|banjoist|actor}}
| years_active     = 1962–1984
| past_member_of   = [[The Dubliners]]
| label            = 
| website          = 
}}

'''Luke Kelly''' (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, [[folk musician]] and actor from [[Dublin]], Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become involved in the folk music revival there. Returning to Dublin in the 1960s, he became a founding member of the band [[The Dubliners]] in 1962. The ''[[Irish Post]]'' and other commentators regard Kelly, known for his distinctive singing style and sometimes political messages, as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers.<ref name="The Irish Post">{{cite web|author=Senan James Fox |url=http://www.irishpost.co.uk/entertainment/remembering-luke-kelly-30-years-on |title=Remembering Luke Kelly 30 years on |newspaper=The Irish Post |date=30 January 2014 |accessdate=13 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012231519/http://www.irishpost.co.uk/entertainment/remembering-luke-kelly-30-years-on |archivedate=12 October 2014 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Luke Kelly was born to Luke Kelly and Julia Fleming, a [[working-class]] couple, in [[Sheriff Street]], [[Dublin]].<ref name="cowell">{{cite book|title =Dublin's Famous People and where They Lived |page = 101 | author= John Cowell| date=1996 | publisher=O'Brien Press |isbn= 9780862784683}}</ref> His maternal grandmother Elizabeth McDonald, who emigrated to [[Ireland]] from [[Scotland]], lived with the Kelly family until her death in 1953. Kelly's father, who was also named Luke, was wounded as a child when a detachment of soldiers from the [[King's Own Scottish Borderers]] opened fire on a Dublin crowd on 26 July 1914 in what became known as the [[Bachelor's Walk massacre]].<ref name=jacobin>{{cite web |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/03/luke-kelly-ireland-folk-rare-ould-times-socialism |title=Ireland's Red Troubadour |last=Burtenshaw |first=Ronan |date=17 March 2018 |website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |accessdate=17 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/1916/duffys-book-tells-the-forgotten-stories-of-40-children-rising-killed-34116877.html | newspaper = Irish Independent | title = Duffy's book tells the forgotten stories of 40 children Rising killed | date = 16 October 2015 | accessdate = 2 December 2020 }}</ref> He was taken to [[Jervis Street Hospital]] with a bullet wound to the lung and, although not expected to recover, he overcame his injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.broadsheet.ie/2020/12/02/luke-i-am-your-father/ | website = broadsheet.ie | title = Luke, I Am Your Father | date = 2020 |accessdate=22 February 2023}}</ref>

After growing up, Kelly's father worked for most of his adult life at a [[Jacob's]] biscuit factory and enjoyed playing football. The elder Luke was a keen singer: Luke junior's brother Paddy later recalled that "he had this talent...to sing [[negro spiritual]]s by people like [[Paul Robeson]], we used to sit around and join in – that was our entertainment". After [[Dublin Corporation]] demolished Lattimore Cottages in 1942, the Kellys became the first family to move into the St. Laurence O’Toole flats, where Luke spent the bulk of his childhood, although the family were forced to move by a fire in 1953 and settled in the [[Whitehall, Dublin|Whitehall]] area.<ref name=jacobin /> Both Luke and Paddy played club [[Gaelic football]] and [[soccer]] as children.<ref name="geraghty">{{cite book | last = Geraghty| first = Des| title = Luke Kelly: A Memoir | publisher = Basement Press| year = 1994| location = Dublin, Ireland the best place in the world| pages = 18–20 }}</ref>

Kelly left school at thirteen, and after a number of years of odd-jobbing, he went to England in 1958.<ref name="rteprofile">{{cite web|url= http://www.rte.ie/archives/profiles/kelly-luke/ | publisher = RTÉ |title = Profiles – Luke Kelly | accessdate= 16 August 2016 |quote = Though Luke left school at thirteen, he worked a variety of jobs before moving to England in 1958}}</ref> Working at steel fixing with his brother Paddy on a building site in [[Wolverhampton]], he was apparently sacked after asking for higher pay.<ref name="diasporic">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7awwBwAAQBAJ&q=%22luke+kelly%22+%22higher+pay%22&pg=PA99 | publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing | author= Angela Moran | title= Irish Music Abroad: Diasporic Sounds in Birmingham |date=2012 |isbn=9781443843805 |pages=99–105}}</ref> He worked a number of odd jobs, including a period as a vacuum cleaner salesman.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-gospel-according-to-luke-1.1161210 | newspaper = The Irish Times | title = The gospel according to Luke | date = 9 October 2004 | accessdate = 1 September 2018 }}</ref> Describing himself as a [[beatnik]], he travelled [[Northern England]] in search of work, summarising his life in this period as "cleaning lavatories, cleaning windows, cleaning railways, but very rarely cleaning my face".<ref name=jacobin />

==Musical beginnings==
Kelly had been interested in music during his teenage years: he regularly attended [[Céilí|céilithe]] with his sister Mona and listened to American vocalists including: [[Fats Domino]], [[Al Jolson]], [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Perry Como]]. He also had an interest in theatre and musicals, being involved with the staging of plays by Dublin's Marian Arts Society.<ref name=jacobin />

The first folk club he came across was in the Bridge Hotel, [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in early 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/folk/2009/05/jez-lowe-on-newcastles-legenda.html |title=Folk: Jez Lowe on Newcastle's legendary Bridge Hotel |publisher=BBC |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref> Having already acquired the use of a [[banjo]], he started memorising songs. In [[Leeds]] he brought his banjo to sessions in McReady's pub. The folk revival was under way in England: at the centre of it was [[Ewan MacColl]], who scripted a radio programme called ''Ballads and Blues''. A revival in the [[skiffle]] genre also injected a certain energy into folk singing at the time.

Kelly started [[busking]]. On a trip home, he went to a ''[[fleadh cheoil]]'' in [[Milltown Malbay]] on the advice of [[Johnny Moynihan]]. He listened to recordings of [[Woody Guthrie]] and [[Pete Seeger]]. He also developed his political convictions which, as [[Ronnie Drew]] pointed out after his death, he stuck to throughout his life. As Drew also pointed out, he "learned to sing with perfect diction".<ref name="indoFlashback">{{cite news|url= http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/music-news/flashback-1984-dubliners-frontman-luke-kelly-passes-away-34401262.html | newspaper = Irish Independent | title=Flashback 1984: Dubliner's frontman Luke Kelly passes away |date= 31 January 2016 |accessdate= 4 October 2016}}</ref>

Kelly befriended Sean Mulready in [[Birmingham]] and lived in his home for a period.<ref>{{cite book| title= Only in the Common People: The Aesthetics of Class in Post-War Britain | url= https://archive.org/details/onlycommonpeople00long | url-access= limited | author = Paul Long | publisher= Cambridge Scholars Publishing | date= 2008 | page=[https://archive.org/details/onlycommonpeople00long/page/n103 92] | isbn=9781847184177 }}</ref> Mulready was a teacher who was forced from his job in Dublin because of his communist beliefs.<ref name="diasporic"/> Mulready had strong music links; a sister, Kathleen Moynihan, was a founding member of [[Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann]], and he was related by marriage to Festy Conlon, the [[County Galway]] whistle player. Mulready's brother-in-law, Ned Stapleton, taught Kelly "The [[Rocky Road to Dublin]]".<ref name="diasporic"/> During this period he studied literature and politics under the tutelage of Mulready, his wife Mollie, and Marxist classicist [[George Derwent Thomson]]: Kelly later stated that his interest in music grew parallel to his interest in politics.<ref name=jacobin />

Kelly bought his first banjo, which had five strings and a long neck, and played it in the style of [[Pete Seeger]] and [[Tommy Makem]]. At the same time, Kelly began a habit of reading, and also began playing golf on one of Birmingham's municipal courses.<ref name="diasporic"/> He got involved in the Jug O'Punch folk club run by [[Ian Campbell (folk musician)|Ian Campbell]]. He befriended [[Dominic Behan]], and they performed in folk clubs and Irish pubs from London to [[Glasgow]]. In London pubs, like "The Favourite", he would hear street singer Margaret Barry and musicians in exile like Roger Sherlock, [[Seamus Ennis]], Bobby Casey and Mairtín Byrnes.

Luke Kelly was by now active in the [[Connolly Association]], a left-wing grouping strongest among the emigres in England, and he also joined the [[Young Communist League (Great Britain)|Young Communist League]]: he toured Irish pubs playing his set and selling the Connolly Association's newspaper ''The Irish Democrat''. By 1962 [[George Derwent Thomson]] had offered him the opportunity to further his educational and political development by attending university in [[Prague]]. However, Kelly turned down the offer in favour of pursuing his career in folk music.<ref name=jacobin /> He was also to start frequenting Ewan MacColl and [[Peggy Seeger]]'s Singer Club in London.

==The Dubliners==
In 1961, there was a [[Irish folk music#1960s and 70s: Revival again|folk music]] revival or "ballad boom", as it was later termed, in waiting in Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.tradfolkireland.com/The%20Ballad%20Boom.html | website = Tradfolkireland.com | title= The Irish Ballad Boom of the 1960s | accessdate=26 November 2016 }}</ref> The Abbey Tavern sessions in [[Howth]] were the forerunner to sessions in the Hollybrook, [[Clontarf, Dublin|Clontarf]], the International Bar and the [[Grafton Cinema]]. Luke Kelly returned to Dublin in 1962. [[O'Donoghue's Pub]] was already established as a session house, and soon Kelly was singing with, among others, [[Ronnie Drew]] and [[Barney McKenna]]. Other early people playing at O'Donoghues included [[The Fureys]], father and sons, John Keenan and Sean Og McKenna, Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine, Seamus Ennis, Willy Clancy and Mairtin Byrnes.

A concert John Molloy organised in the Hibernian Hotel led to his "Ballad Tour of Ireland" with the Ronnie Drew Ballad Group (billed in one town as the Ronnie Drew ''Ballet'' Group).<ref name="force"/><ref name="diasporic"/> This tour led to the Abbey Tavern and the Royal Marine Hotel and then to jam-packed sessions in the Embankment, [[Tallaght]]. [[Ciarán Bourke]] joined the group, followed later by [[John Sheahan]]. They renamed themselves [[The Dubliners]] at Kelly's suggestion, as he was reading [[James Joyce]]'s book of short stories, entitled ''[[Dubliners]]'', at the time.<ref name="Its">{{cite web|author=Nick Guida |url=http://itsthedubliners.com/dubs_01.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621182255/http://itsthedubliners.com/dubs_01.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=21 June 2008 |title=The Dubliners 1962–1966: It's the Dubliners |website=Itsthedubliners.com |accessdate=4 February 2013}}</ref> Kelly was the leading vocalist for the group's [[The Dubliners (album)|eponymous debut album]] in 1964, which included his rendition of "The Rocky Road to Dublin". Barney McKenna later noted that Kelly was the only singer he'd heard sing it to the rhythm it was played on the fiddle.<ref name=jacobin />

In 1964, Luke Kelly left the group for nearly two years and was replaced by [[Bob Lynch (musician)|Bobby Lynch]] and [[John Sheahan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedubliners.org/history.html |title=The Story so far... The Dubliners' History |website=theDubliners.org |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref> Kelly went back to London with [[Deirdre O'Connell]], founder of the [[Focus Theatre]], whom he was to marry the following year, and became involved in [[Ewan MacColl]]'s "gathering". The Critics, as it was called, was formed to explore folk traditions and help young singers. During this period he retained his political commitments, becoming increasingly active in the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]]. Kelly also met and befriended [[Michael O'Riordan]], the General Secretary of the [[Irish Workers' Party]], and the two developed a "personal-political friendship".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.irishtimes.com/news/veteran-communist-dedicated-to-his-cause-1.1005919%3fmode=amp | newspaper = The Irish Times | accessdate = 1 September 2018 | title = Veteran communist dedicated to his cause | archive-date = 2 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180902084209/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/veteran-communist-dedicated-to-his-cause-1.1005919?mode=amp | url-status = dead }}</ref> Kelly endorsed O'Riordan for election, and held a rally in his name during campaigning in 1965.<ref name=jacobin /> In 1965, he sang '[[The Rocky Road to Dublin]]' with [[Liam Clancy]] on his first, self-titled solo album.

Bobby Lynch left The Dubliners, and John Sheahan and Kelly rejoined. They recorded an album in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, played at the [[Cambridge Folk Festival]] and recorded ''Irish Night Out'', a live album with, among others, exiles Margaret Barry, Michael Gorman and Jimmy Powers. They also played a concert in the [[National Stadium (Ireland)|National Stadium]] in Dublin with Pete Seeger as special guest.<ref name="geraghty"/> They were on the road to success: Top Twenty hits with "[[Seven Drunken Nights]]" and "[[The Black Velvet Band]]", ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' in 1968 and a tour of New Zealand and Australia. The ballad boom in Ireland was becoming increasingly commercialised, with bar and pub owners building ever larger venues for pay-in performances. Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, on a visit to Dubli,n expressed concern to Kelly about his drinking.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

As an actor, Kelly performed in the 1969 [[Dublin Theatre Festival]], playing the role of Sergeant Kite in ''The Mullingar Recruits''. He later played King Herod in several runs of the musical ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]'' at the [[Gaiety Theatre, Dublin|Gaiety Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.dib.ie/biography/kelly-luke-a4454 | publisher = Royal Irish Academy | work = [[Dictionary of Irish Biography]] | title = Kelly, Luke | first = Lawrence William | last = White | date = October 2009 | doi = 10.3318/dib.004454.v2 }}</ref>

[[Christy Moore]] and Kelly became acquainted in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.christymoore.com/biography/1970s/ | title= Christy Moore Biography | date= 8 February 2012 | quote = Across the '60’s I'd heard [...] Luke Kelly solo, and then I began to be influenced by the British folk revival| website = Christymoore.com |accessdate = 26 November 2016 }}</ref> During his [[Planxty]] days, Moore got to know Kelly well.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} In 1972 The Dubliners themselves performed in ''Richard's Cork Leg'', based on the "incomplete works" of [[Brendan Behan]]. In 1973, Kelly took to the stage performing as [[Herod Antipas|King Herod]] in ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]''.<ref name="force">{{cite news|url= http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/artsvibe/luke-kelly-remembered-a-force-of-nature-on-stage-256309.html | newspaper = Irish Examiner |date=24 January 2014 | title= Luke Kelly remembered: A force of nature on stage }}</ref>

The arrival of a new manager for The Dubliners, [[Derry]] composer [[Phil Coulter]], resulted in a collaboration that produced three of Kelly's most notable performances: “[[The Town I Loved So Well]]”, "Hand me Down my Bible", and “[[Scorn Not His Simplicity]]”, a song about Phil's son who had [[Down Syndrome]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/phil-coulter-reveals-his-anguish-at-sons-downs-syndrome-31575768.html | newspaper = Belfast Telegraph |date=2 October 2015  |accessdate = 4 July 2016 | title= Phil Coulter reveals his anguish at son's Down's syndrome }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/with-luke-kelly-badgering-me-i-had-to-write-grownup-songs-29163775.html | newspaper = Irish Independent | title=With Luke Kelly badgering me, I had to write grown-up songs |date=31 March 2013  | accessdate = 5 July 2016}}</ref> Kelly had such respect for the latter song that he only performed it once for a television recording and rarely, if ever, sang it at the Dubliners' often boisterous events.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/artsvibe/luke-kelly-remembered-a-force-of-nature-on-stage-256309.html | newspaper = Irish Examiner | date=24 January 2014 | accessdate= 5 July 2016 | title=Luke Kelly remembered: A force of nature on stage |quote = Kelly [...] rarely performed 'Scorn Not His Simplicity' – one of his most famous songs, penned by Phil Coulter about his Down syndrome son – on stage}}</ref>

His interpretations of “[[On Raglan Road]]” and "Scorn Not His Simplicity" became significant points of reference in Irish folk music.{{original research inline|date= November 2016 }} His version of "Raglan Road" came about when the poem's author, [[Patrick Kavanagh]], heard him singing in a Dublin pub, and approached Kelly to say that he should sing the poem (which is set to the tune of “[[The Dawning of the Day]]”).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1323-patrick-kavanagh/1331-on-raglan-road/336055-luke-kelly-sings-on-raglan-road/ | publisher= RTÉ | title= On Raglan Road exhibition – Luke Kelly Sings | quote =Luke Kelly explains how he met Patrick Kavanagh in The Bailey pub in Dublin. During this encounter Kavanagh told him he had a song for him.| date= 1979 | accessdate= 26 November 2016 }}</ref> Kelly remained a politically engaged musician,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/the-leftwing-firebrand-who-gave-us-some-of-our-most-popular-tunes-30953891.html |work=Irish Independent| title= The left-wing firebrand who gave us some of our most popular tunes | date= 1 February 2015 |quote= Luke Kelly of The Dubliners was the most accomplished vehicle for MacColl's [political] material}}</ref> becoming a supporter of the [[Music in the movement against apartheid|movement against South African apartheid]] and performing at benefit concerts for the [[Irish Travellers|Irish Traveller]] community,<ref name=jacobin /> and many of the songs he recorded dealt with social issues, the [[arms race]] and the [[Cold War]], [[trade unionism]] and [[Irish republicanism]], ("The Springhill Disaster", "Joe Hill", "The Button Pusher", "Alabama 1958" and "[[God Save Ireland]]" all being examples of his concerns).

[[File:Luke Kelly 1980.jpg|thumb|Luke Kelly on stage in 1980|alt=Picture of a man with goatee and curly hair, wearing a yellow shirt with white floral patterns. He is holding a guitar. Only the edges of the guitar can be seen in the photo. He is smiling away from the camera. It is a side profile photo.]]

==Personal life==
Luke Kelly married [[Deirdre O'Connell]] in 1965, but they separated in the early 1970s.<ref name="rteprofile"/> Kelly spent the last eight years of his life living with his partner, Madeleine Seiler, who is from Germany.<ref name="rteprofile"/>

==Final years==
Kelly's health deteriorated in the 1970s. Kelly himself spoke about his problems with alcohol.<ref name=jacobin /> On 30 June 1980 during a concert in the [[Cork Opera House]] he collapsed on the stage.<ref name="force"/> He had already suffered for some time from migraines and forgetfulness – including forgetting what country he was in whilst visiting [[Iceland]] – which had been ascribed to his intense schedule, alcohol consumption, and "party lifestyle".<ref name="The Irish Post"/><ref name=jacobin /> A [[brain tumour]] was diagnosed.<ref name="indoFlashback"/> Although Kelly toured with the Dubliners after enduring an operation, his health deteriorated further. He forgot lyrics and had to take longer breaks in concerts as he felt weak. In addition, following his emergency surgery after his collapse in Cork, he became more withdrawn, preferring the company of Madeleine at home to performing.<ref name=jacobin /> On his European tour, he managed to perform with the band for most of the show in Carre for their ''[[Live in Carre]]'' album. However, in autumn 1983, he had to leave the stage in [[Traun]], Austria and again in [[Mannheim]], Germany. Shortly after this, he had to cancel the tour of southern Germany, and after a short stay in hospital in [[Heidelberg, Germany|Heidelberg]] he was flown back to Dublin.<ref name="ronnie">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=j0aJyma3aOYC&q=%22luke+kelly%22+Heidelberg&pg=PT159 | title= Ronnie | publisher=Penguin UK | isbn= 9780141930039 | author= Ronnie Drew | year = 2009 }}</ref>

After another operation, he spent Christmas with his family but was taken into hospital again in the New Year, where he died on 30 January 1984.<ref name="indoFlashback"/> Kelly's funeral in [[Whitehall, Dublin|Whitehall]] attracted thousands of mourners from across Ireland.<ref name=jacobin /> His gravestone in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]], Dublin, bears the inscription: ''Luke Kelly – Dubliner''.<ref name="The Irish Post"/>

[[Seán Cannon]] took Kelly's place in The Dubliners. He had been performing with the Dubliners since 1982,<ref name="ronnie"/> due to the deterioration of Kelly's health.

==Legacy==
[[File:Luke Kelly statue.jpg|thumb|Statue on South King Street|alt=Statue of Luke Kelly sitting on a chair and playing an instrument and (presumably singing). The statue is placed on a cement platform. The platform is on a pavement with benches to sit on. In the background, there is a big brown building, with cars and bicycles parked in front, along with tree (without leaves). There are other smaller buildings on the top right corner away from focus.]]
[[File:Luke Kelly head Sheriff Street 1.jpg|thumb|[[Statue of Luke Kelly, Dublin|Sculpture of Luke Kelly on Sheriff Street]] by Vera Klute. Unveiled in 2019|alt=Sculpted head of a man with goatee and curly hair presented on a block. The pavement around it is circular. In the background, there is a neatly manicured lawn, and construction crane. There is a walkway and stream on right corner.]]
Luke Kelly's legacy and contributions to Irish music and culture have been described as "iconic" and have been captured in a number of documentaries and anthologies.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/people-were-full-of-praise-for-rtes-documentary-on-luke-kelly-34857565.html | newspaper = Irish Independent | title=People were full of praise for RTE's documentary on Luke Kelly |date= 5 July 2016}}</ref>

The influence of his Scottish grandmother aided Kelly's support in preserving important traditional Scottish songs such as "Mormond Braes", the Canadian folk song "[[Peggy Gordon]]", [[Robert Burns]]' "[[Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation|Parcel of Rogues]]", "Tibbie Dunbar", [[Hamish Henderson]]'s "[[Freedom Come-All-Ye]]", and [[Morris Blythman|Thurso Berwick]]'s "Scottish Breakaway".{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

The [[Ballybough]] Bridge in the north inner city of Dublin was renamed the Luke Kelly Bridge,<ref name="cowell"/> and in November 2004 Dublin City Council voted unanimously to erect a [[bronze]] statue of Luke Kelly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/1102/kellyl.html |title=Council votes to erect Luke Kelly statue  |publisher=RTÉ |date=2 November 2004 |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/5863 | website = TheStage.co.uk | title= Ahern lends support to Kelly memorial |date= 31 December 2004}}</ref> However, the Dublin Docklands Authority subsequently stated that it could no longer afford to fund the statue. In 2010, councillor Christy Burke of Dublin City Council appealed to members of the music community including [[Bono]], [[Phil Coulter]] and [[Enya]] to help build it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ramblinghouse.org/2010/12/luke-statue-falls-victim-to-recession/ |title= Luke Kelly statue falls victim to recession |website=Ramblinghouse.org |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120201095012/http://www.ramblinghouse.org/2010/12/luke-statue-falls-victim-to-recession/ | archivedate=1 February 2012 |date= 1 December 2010 }}</ref>

[[Paddy Reilly]] recorded a tribute to Kelly<ref>[[Paddy Reilly]] ''The Ultimate Songs Experience'' 1999 rmg CTCCD 006</ref> entitled "The Dublin Minstrel". It featured on his ''Gold And Silver Years'', ''Celtic Collections'' and the ''Essential Paddy Reilly'' CD's. The Dubliners recorded the song on their ''Live at Vicar Street'' DVD/CD. The song was composed by Declan O'Donoghue, the Racing Correspondent of ''The Irish Sun''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=18529 |title=Tune Req: Dublin Minstrel Boy (Paddy Reilly) |website=mudcat.org |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref>

At Christmas 2005, writer-director [[Michael Feeney Callan]]'s documentary, ''Luke Kelly: The Performer'', was released and soon acquired platinum sales status. The documentary told Kelly's story through the words of the Dubliners, [[Donovan]], [[Ralph McTell]] and others and featured full versions of rarely seen performances such as the early sixties' ''[[Ed Sullivan Show]]''. A later documentary, ''Luke Kelly: Prince of the City'', was also well received.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/film-news/luke-kelly-documentary-rte-heavily-8351018 |newspaper = Irish Mirror | date= 4 July 2016 | title= Luke Kelly documentary on RTÉ heavily praised }}</ref>

In September 1988, a monument was erected to commemorate Kelly in the Larkhill area of Whitehall, where he had lived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/funding-allocated-commemoration-luke-kelly-14208140|title = Funding allocated for commemoration of Luke Kelly memorial|date = 27 January 2018}}</ref>

Two statues of Kelly were unveiled in Dublin in January 2019 to mark the 35th anniversary of his death.<ref name=LukeKelly>{{cite news|url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2019/0122/1024860-two-new-statues-of-luke-kelly-to-be-unveiled-in-dublin/|publisher=RTÉ News|title=Two new statues of Luke Kelly to be unveiled in Dublin|date=22 January 2019}}</ref> One, a life-size seated bronze by John Coll, is on South King Street. The second sculpture, [[Statue of Luke Kelly, Dublin|a marble portrait head]] by [[Vera Klute]], is on [[Sheriff Street]]. The Klute sculpture was vandalised on several occasions in 2019 and 2020, in each case being restored by graffiti-removal specialists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/vandalism-of-kelly-statue-was-oneoff-artist-38258158.html|title=Vandalism of Kelly statue was one-off – artist|website=Irish Independent|language=en|accessdate=2019-06-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0420/1132529-luke-kelly-statue/ | publisher = RTÉ News | title = Dublin City Council reviewing how to protect Luke Kelly statue | date = 20 April 2020 | accessdate = 21 April 2020 }}</ref>

==Discography==

===Compilation albums===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Album details
! colspan="3"| <small>[[Irish Album Chart]]</small>
|-
| 1994
|align="left"| '''''The Collection'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: CD
| 1
|-
| 1999
|align="left"| '''''Working Class Hero'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: CD
| 10
|-
| 2004
|align="left"| '''''The Best Of'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: CD
|  2
|-
| 2005
|align="left"| '''''The Performer'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: CD
| 14
|-
| 2007
|align="left"| '''''Working Class Hero'''''
*Label:
*Formats: CD
| 33
|-
| 2010
|align="left"| '''''The Definitive Collection'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: CD
| 7
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Single details
! colspan="3"| <small>[[Irish Singles Chart]]</small>
|-
| 2013
|align="left"| [[The Auld Triangle]] with [[The Dubliners]]
*Label: 
*Formats: Digital
| 80
|}

===DVDs===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Album details
! colspan="3"| <small>Irish DVD Chart</small>
|-
| 2005
|align="left"| '''''The Performer'''''
*Label: 
*Formats: DVD
| 1
|}<ref>{{cite web|author=Nick Guida |url=http://itsthedubliners.com/lk_d01.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130926173358/http://itsthedubliners.com/lk_d01.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 September 2013 |title=The Dubliners: The Luke Kelly Discography |website=Itsthedubliners.com |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://acharts.us/performer/luke_kelly |title=Luke Kelly – Music Charts |website=Acharts.us |accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240002&arch=t&lyr=2000&year=2000&week=1 |title=GFK Chart-Track |website=Chart-track.co.uk |accessdate=13 August 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314132641/http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240002&arch=t&lyr=2000&year=2000&week=1 |archivedate=14 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* ''Luke Kelly: a Memoir'', [[Des Geraghty]], {{ISBN|1-85594-090-6}}
* ''Ar Bhruacha na Life'', Des Geraghty, – 23-5-07 135585 www.tg4.ie – En sub.wmv (Déanann Des Geraghty, fear amhrán agus feadóige, ceiliúradh ar an lucht ceoil i mBaile Átha Cliath).

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{The Dubliners |state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Luke}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:1960s in Irish music]]
[[Category:1970s in Irish music]]
[[Category:1980s in Irish music]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish banjoists]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish folk singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish male singers]]
[[Category:Actors from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Irish communists]]
[[Category:Irish male banjoists]]
[[Category:Irish male folk singers]]
[[Category:Irish people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Irish republican musicians]]
[[Category:Irish socialists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:People educated at O'Connell School]]
[[Category:The Dubliners members]]