Luke Kelly

Luke Kelly was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. He was born into a working-class household in Dublin city on November 17, 1940. He left school at thirteen and worked at various odd jobs before moving to England in 1958. He became involved in the folk music revival and learned to play the banjo. He returned to Dublin in the early 1960s and joined The Dubliners, a folk band that became popular in Ireland and abroad. He was known for his distinctive singing style, his political activism and his interpretation of songs by writers such as Ewan MacColl, Dominic Behan and Brendan Behan. He also acted in several plays and films, including The Quare Fellow, The Hostage and The Travelling People. He married Deirdre O'Connell, an actress and founder of the Focus Theatre, in 1965. He suffered from a brain tumor in his later years and died on January 30, 1984 at the age of 43. He is widely regarded as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers and a cultural icon.