Philomena Lynott dead at 88

Philomena Lynott

October 22, 1930 - June 12, 2019

Philomena Lynott, mother of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, died this morning after a long battle with cancer. In late 2017, Ms. Lynott announced that she was deciding to not receive any further treatment for her illness. She was 88 years old. 

Born in the Crumlin district of Dublin, Ms. Lynott was the fourth of nine children. Leaving school at 13, she soon went to work in a senior home before becoming a nurse. Sometime in 1949, she began a relationship with a man named Cecil Parris. Soon enough, Ms. Lynott became pregnant. When most of her peers were having abortions, Ms. Lynott chose to keep her baby. On August 20th, 1949, she gave birth to her son Philip Parris Lynott. Raising Phil, Ms. Lynott faced prejudice given Phil was mixed race- with his father being black. With it becoming increasingly difficult to raise her son, Ms. Lynott left Phil in the care of her parents. However, Ms. Lynott would give birth to two more children- a girl and a boy. Although she put them up for adoption, she remained in contact with them. The knowledge of Phil's sibling was unknown to the public until 2011 in a revised edition of her autobiography My Boy. Though they only saw each other every now and then, mother and son would remain close. 

Starting in 1964, Ms. Lynott was in a relationship with Dennis Keeley. Together, the two took over as managers of the Clifton Grange Hotel in Whalley Range, Manchester. For the next 14 years, the hotel became well known- especially after Phil's success with Thin Lizzy. For every gig the band had in the area in the 1970s, Ms. Lynott would accommodate her son's band.  Aside from Thin Lizzy, the hotel would be occupied with the show business trade. Ms. Lynott also holds the distinction of being the only hotel manager that would accommodate the Sex Pistol during their 1976 tour. 

On January 4, 1986, Ms. Lynott faced the devastating loss of Phil- who died after years of drug abuse. Prior to this, Ms. Lynott was unaware of her son's addictions. Despite the passing of her son, Ms. Lynott stayed strong and carried on keeping her son's memory alive. In 1995, she published an autobiography, My Boy- a book documenting her life with Phil. For years, she attended the annual tribute show for her son- Vibe for Philo. She also had a bronze statue constructed of Phil in 2005, which has since then become a popular spot in Dublin for fans to make their pilgrimages. 

Tributes have been pouring out on social media, including from the official Thin Lizzy social media pages. On Thin Lizzy's Facebook account, a statement from guitarist Scott Gorham was posted:

"It is with great sadness that we learned today that Philip's mom, Philomena Lynott, has passed away. She was always a great supporter of Thin Lizzy from the early days, throughout the band's existence and beyond. She always did her best to keep Phil's flame alive over the years, opening up her home to thousands of fans from around the world who paid her a visit. RIP Phyllis- we'll miss you."