Philomena Lynott, who died yesterday at the age of 88, may have been best known as the mother of the legendary Thin Lizzy frontman Philip Lynott but she was also a hugely respected entrepreneur and author in her own right.
She had to take the tough decision, as a single mother in the England of the 1950s, that Philip, a mixed race child, should be raised by her parents back in Dublin.
He turned out to be among the most acclaimed and important Irish performers of his generation and always cited Philomena as a key influence on a career which ended with his untimely death aged just 36.
She was fiercely protective of his legacy and, as two distinguished Dubliners, it was fitting that she lived long enough to see his iconic statue erected in the centre of their city.
