You must visit to really appreciate a fantastic work of art. Brilliant depiction of a wonderful performer - the eyes and mouth made me raise my ear waiting to hear "Raglan Road" or the like!!

The statue was designed by Vera Klute and is circa 220 cm x 170 cm x 170 cm excluding the stone base. Treated marble was used for the formation of the head while treated metal wire was used to form the hair and beard. The hair is attached through the use of a metal mesh wig while the moustache is made of individual pieces of wire which were drilled into the face of the statue. An initial model with hair was made in smaller near life sized form. A secondary larger statue was then created from plaster but without hair. This second statue was then used for 3D scanning to create the final larger sized version replicated in marble via a 5-axis cnc milling machine in Italy. The appearance is based on a distinctive pose of Luke Kelly with his eyes closed while performing and is said to be taken from a still from his performance of Scorn Not His Simplicity on a show hosted by Jim McCann in 1974 called 'McCann Man'. The statue is said to have cost Dublin City Council €80,000.

A fitting tribute to the great man

No offense, but I thought I was looking at Bob Ross when I first saw the sculpture 🤓😇

Since we were in this side of Dublin we decided that it would be a shame not to have a quick gander at Dublin’s newest statute, a Luke Kelly sculpture situated just across the bridge on the edge of Guild Street and Sheriff Street, to mark the 35th anniversary of his death. (Died in 1984 of a brain tumour aged just 43). Luke was born into a working-class household in Sheriff Street, in 1940. Luke Kelly, with his very distinctive singing style, was a quintessential Dublin singer, folk musician, and social activist, and a hero and all round Irish legend to many. Luke, of course, was a prominent member of The Dubliners, the Irish trad specialists, whose versions of Irish classics like “The Rocky Road to Dublin”, “Seven Drunken Nights”, “The Town I Loved So Well”, “On Raglan Road” enthralled millions of people not just in Ireland but all across the world, a folk singer that will forever be remembered. Designed by German born but Dublin based artist, Vera Klute, the sculpture is quite distinctive and definitely stands out, showing a big curly red head and bearded Luke on display for the whole world to see. Eye catching, just like Luke Kelly was, that being the point I guess! It’s quite big and I have to say it’s a great piece of artistic work, getting Kelly’s facial expressions down to a tee. Hats off to Vera Klute, this is an excellent sculpture and one that the people of the Northside can be proud of. But wait a minute, the statue was apparently vandalized with graffiti just a few weeks after its unveiling! No one knows why but I was thinking perhaps it might be that the statue is really not in the heart of Sheriff Street but just across the bridge on the edge of the area he was from, and nearer to the nicer part of the town? Walking straight across the bridge to the statue one can be in no doubt that you are walking across a social divide, at least that was the impression I got, and not so much a gift to the local people but something for the tourists to gawk at and then promptly turn right around least they venture too close to the centre of Sheriff Street. Or maybe I am putting too much into that… Anyway, thankfully the graffiti was removed and the statue was restored in all its glory by the time we had a look.

A big head

Impressive statute if you're heading out that way. It's very big and makes for a fun tourist photo.

Loved seeing this sculpture of Luke but such a pity about it's location, placed alongside a heavily trafficked road far from the city center, such a shame. Understandably it was relocated due to defamation but this current spot is pretty absurd. Luke Kelly deserves so much better!

A beautiful artwork in an unexpected location. Yet there is method in the madness as the rustic industrial feeling of the statue is echoed in the background with a hulking rusting ancient Victorian creation over the water. The hair/beard as metal wires further reinforces this theme. There's over 270 statutes dotted across Dublin. This is my favourite and I'm sure loads of other folk's favourites. The reason is that it reflects its environment & also the expression on Luke's face. Too many public artworks of notable people have them with either neutral facial expression or a gentle smile. This is Luke in the throngs of singing his soul out. It brings it alive in a deep meaningful way.

He looks like Paul Breitner. 😉

Had to look him up and wow he was good.

Lovely to see. Glad he is being looked after now. Much nicer up close. Photos don't do it justice.

Very nice detailed statue of Luke Kelly worth a look for sure.

It looks amazing! It has been vandalised by some idiots about several times and now it has been restored. They'll have to make sure that nobody would ever vandalise it again. Anyway god bless that poor old bloke Luke Kelly. It was so sad that he passed away in 1984. I'm sure he was a great musician. He might be gone but not forgotten and he would be sadly missed.

What can I say. Its Luke Kelly. Who isn't a fan. Beautiful to look at

Amazing art, man and area of Dublin. G'wan the Sheriffer ♥️

Legend We will never see the likes of him again.