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TWO LUKES

Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Copyright: RTÉ & Wildfire Films 2019. Photography Credit: Owen Tighe
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Luke statue - artist John Coll Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire 2019. Photo Adrian McCarthy.
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Two Lukes Luke plinth by John Coll, photo by Gregory Dunn for Wildfire Films Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire Films 2019. Photogrphy credit: Gregory Dunn
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Luke, photo by Gregory Dunn for Wildfire Films Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire Films 2019. Photogrphy credit: Gregory Dunn
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Vera Klute, photo by Gregory Dunn for Wildfire Films Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire Films 2019. Photogrphy credit: Gregory Dunn
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Vera Klute & Luke, photo by Gregory Dunn for Wildfire Films Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire Films 2019. Photogrphy credit: Gregory Dunn
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Luke on the move, photo by Gregory Dunn for Wildfire Films Copyright: RTÉ and Wildfire Films 2019. Photogrphy credit: Gregory Dunn
Two Lukes Image Name: Two Lukes Description: Two Lukes Easter Monday, April 22 RTÉ One at 18.30 Artist John Coll Copyright: RTÉ & Wildfire 2019. Photography credit: Bernadette Ní Ghallachoir

TWO LUKES

What would Luke think about it? He’d say they have little to be doing, doing a statue of me.  John Sheahan, The Dubliners.

You wait years for a statue of Luke Kelly and then two come along at once. On 30 January 2019, Dublin City Council unveiled two separate sculptures, on either side of the Liffey, of the legendary musician, social activist and singer with The Dubliners. The unveilings coincide with the 35th anniversary of his death. This documentary tells the entertaining story of how the people of Dublin ended up with two very different public sculptures of their hero, Luke Kelly.

The tale begins in 2004, in the Dublin City Council chamber, when Cllr Christy Burke declared ‘We should have a statue of Luke Kelly’, and put forward an emergency motion, which was passed by the council. But, before funding was secured, those plans collapsed, along with the economy, in 2008. When Christy Burke then became Lord Mayor in 2014, one of the gifts he wanted as mayor was the statue of Luke Kelly, so Dublin City Council Arts Office promptly put out a call to arts organisations and ran a competition. German-born, Dublin-based artist, Vera Klute was unanimously selected with her proposal for an extraordinary two-meter high stone bust of Kelly’s head, with striking red hair and beard made out of corroded metal wire. The pose, Klute chose, was based on a 1974 televison performance when Kelly sang Scorn Not His Simplicity. It was agreed, once the oversized bust was completed, it would reside near Sheriff Street, the place of Kelly’s birth, in Dublin’s North Inner City.

The approval of Luke Kelly’s family was the next stage and once green lit, Vera Klute’s sculpture would be created to scale and launched without anymore delays. But there was a problem. After seeing a model of the bust, some members of the Kelly family expressed their unhappiness with the radical modern design. The City Council didn’t want to proceed without the support of the family, so the project was put on hold for a few years.

Separate from the city council’s proposal, another, very different, statue of Luke Kelly was in the works. Gerry Hunt, a graphic novel artist, and lover of folk music had commissioned sculptor John Coll (who had previously made statues of Patrick Kavanagh and Brendan Behan) to make a life size sculpture of Luke Kelly, sitting playing the banjo. It was for Gerry Hunt’s own back garden. He had used his savings to pay for the private commission. He invited members of the Kelly family to look at the near finished piece. They were suitably impressed. Gerry Hunt then had a change of mind and approached Dublin City council, offering to donate the statue to the city.

All of a sudden, Dublin City Council, now had two Luke Kelly statues! Until that moment, the council had strict guidelines allowing just one public monument for each person celebrated in the city.

The problem of which sculpture to choose became a BIG headache for the council and a special Luke Kelly working group was set up to solve the conundrum of finding itself encumbered with the two works of art. In July 2017, City Arts Officer Ray Yeats announced a resolution to the long-running saga. “The proposal we wish to make, in the end, is to [accept] both statues”. Klute’s bust would be located on Guild Street/Sheriff Street in the north inner city. Coll’s bronze, which the Kelly family prefers, would be located on South King Street on the south side of the city. Both to be unveiled by President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina on the anniversary of Kelly’s death on 30 January 2019.

This short documentary tells the unique, and colourful story around the creation of the two pieces of public art, while also celebrating this cherished Dublin icon. Luke Kelly died from a brain tumour in 1984, aged just 43. Throughout, we sprinkle the unmistakable sounds of Kelly’s singing voice, as well as some unheard audio interviews from the 1970’s. We remind people of the uniqueness of Kelly, showing why his city holds him in such esteem.

We spend time with Vera Klute and her team in BA Steel Fabrications as they work on putting over three thousand strands of hair into the giant marble head and beard. We also visit the Bronze Art Foundry where John Coll dusts down his bronze sculpture in anticipation of the unveiling.  We spend time in the North Inner City visiting Luke’s old primary school, St Laurence O’Toole’s CBS, where we meet some delightful boys from 4th class as they sing Luke Kelly songs. We talk to Gerry Fay who runs the local shop near Sheriff Street. Gerry was a classmate of Luke’s and also played alongside in the local GAA club.

With contributions from artists Vera Klute and John Coll, members of Dublin City Arts Office, John Kelly (brother), John Sheahan (The Dubliners), Des Geraghty, Christy Burke and locals from the North Inner City, our story ends with the magical day when both statues of Luke are unveiled.

Thirty-five years after his untimely departure, the city is bringing two very different versions of their favourite son back to life.

A Wildfire Films documentary for RTÉ and Dublin City Council.

For more info contact Producer/Director, Adrian McCarthy – adrian@wildfirefilms.net / 087-2523482