If he was still with us, August 20, 2009 would be Phil Lynott’s 60th birthday. A group of artists and musicians have come together to celebrate the iconic Thin Lizzy frontman with an exhibition and gig in the Stephen’s Green Centre in Dublin.

Phil’s mother, Philomena, will supply memorabilia for the exhibition, including Phil’s bass guitar. Curator Dermot O’Grady is also sourcing archive photographs of the band.
Eight artists from Ireland and further afield have executed original portraits of Lynott. Among them is William Mulhall from Co Down, who first came to prominence as a rock & roll artist in the 1971, when he designed a poster for Led Zeppelin’s concert at the Ulster Hall.
Also on display will be paintings from English painter Greg Harte, who used to play with a Lizzy tribute act and by the 24-year-old Dublin portrait artist Mark Baker, who specialises in portraits of musicians.
Irish hard rock four-piece Glyder, who opened for Metallica earlier this month, will play a few tunes on the night.
They’ll be followed by a set from The Rockers, an act specially formed for the event. The Rockers – fronted by Deko from Rory Gallagher tribute act A Taste of Rory, with Adam Kennedy on lead guitar, Shawn Scott Jones on bass and Jay Oglesby on drums – will bash out an acoustic set in the gallery.
The exhibition has been organised by Dermot O’Grady, curator of the Green Gallery, and by Colm Weadick from Arklow, who runs an event to mark Phil Lynott’s birthday every year.
“Quite a few of my artists do portraits of rock musicians all the time, so the whole thing made sense,” says O’Grady.
O’Grady was a big fan of Thin Lizzy and went to see them a few times in the National Stadium when he was a teenager.
“The only time you’ll hear of it now is when the boxing is on but that was our O2 arena. You might get a couple of thousand into it – that was the big place,” says O’Grady.
He remembers being really impressed by guitarist Scott Gorham. “He was a great stage presence. He had a mirror as a pick on the guitar. It would catch the spotlight and shine back into the audience. He was a really cool dude.”

The opening night of the Phil Lynott exhibition is by invitation only, but the exhibition will continue until Saturday August 29 at the Green Gallery, on the top floor of the Stephen’s Green Centre, with admission free.