A TRIBUTE concert performed in memory of Luke Kelly on what would have been the musician's 80th birthday has proved a huge success, with tens of thousands watching from around the world.
The acclaimed musician sadly passed away in 1984, but his legacy prevails-- and his milestone birthday was celebrated by fans around the globe last week.
Superfan and fellow musician George Murphy, a former finalist on Irish music competition You're A Star marked the day with a concert in tribute to the legendary musician, where he and members from the Rising Sons group took to the stage to perform some of Luke Kelly's greatest hits.
George Murphy and the Rising Sons performed a tribute concert to mark Luke Kelly's 80th birthday in Swords CastleThe concert, which took place in the iconic Swords Castle in Dublin, was livestreamed from George's Facebook page on 17 November, and while thousands watched the show live, the musician says close to 150,000 people have viewed the concert since.
Taking to Facebook after the incredible performance, George thanked everyone who had joined himself and the Rising Sons, and said "I really can't thank everybody enough for the huge reaction to last nights tribute to Luke.
"Thanks again so much for making it such a great experience for us all."
Folks I really cant thank everybody enough for the huge reaction to last nights tribute to Luke. I was nervous and I...
Posted by George Murphy on Wednesday, 18 November 2020
In the days before the ambitious project was to take place, George explained how important Luke Kelly's legacy was to him when he was starting out as a musician, having once played with the remaining Dubliners members on stage.
"Luke was gone before I was even born but his memory lives on in his wonderful songs," he said.
"And to have had the opportunity to stand on stage with Ronnie and Barney and the rest of The Dubliners and sing some of these songs will always be one of the biggest musical highlights in my life."
"In an ideal world an event like this would be in a packed venue with smiling faces, raw voices from singing and pints of plain on every table but alas that's not to be," George continued.
"However I couldn't let the day come and go without marking it somehow."
To join the tens of thousands of fans who celebrated the Dubliner's musicians life, you can watch the concert in its entirety below, on Youtube (here) or on George Murphy's Facebook page (here).
