About Phil Lynott
Lynott, Philip Parris (‘Phil’) (1949–86), rock singer and musician, was born 20 August 1949 at Halham hospital, West Bromwich, England, son of Cecil Parris and Philomena Lynott (b. 1930), a trainee nurse, originally from Dublin.
His parents had parted before he was born, but stayed loosely in touch with each other for a time afterwards. Philomena resisted pressure to give up her child for adoption and reared him herself in Manchester until he was four years old.He was then brought up by his grandparents Sarah and Frank Lynott of Leighlin Road, Crumlin, Dublin. His mother stayed in England, but saw her son regularly and they remained very close. Of mixed race, Philip encountered occasional prejudice, but was a lively and pleasant boy and a popular figure in the locality.
Educated at Armagh Road Christian Brothers' School and Clogher Road technical college, he had ambitions to study architecture but became an apprentice fitter and turner at Tonge and Taggart's foundry in 1967. He hated it and, with his mother's support, quit after a few weeks.