Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become involved in the folk music revival there.

The Irish Post and other commentators regard Kelly, known for his distinctive singing style and sometimes political messages, as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers.

Kelly's father, who was also named Luke, was wounded as a child when a detachment of soldiers from the King's Own Scottish Borderers opened fire on a Dublin crowd on 26 July 1914 in what became known as the Bachelor's Walk massacre.

[5] After growing up, Kelly's father worked for most of his adult life at a Jacob's biscuit factory and enjoyed playing football.

[3] Kelly had been interested in music during his teenage years: he regularly attended céilithe with his sister Mona and listened to American vocalists including: Fats Domino, Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como.

The folk revival was under way in England: at the centre of it was Ewan MacColl who scripted a radio programme called Ballads and Blues.

[8] Mulready had strong music links; a sister, Kathleen Moynihan was a founder member of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and he was related by marriage to Festy Conlon, the County Galway whistle player.

[3] Kelly bought his first banjo, which had five strings and a long neck, and played it in the style of Pete Seeger and Tommy Makem.

In London pubs, like "The Favourite", he would hear street singer Margaret Barry and musicians in exile like Roger Sherlock, Seamus Ennis, Bobby Casey and Mairtín Byrnes.

Other early people playing at O'Donoghues included The Fureys, father and sons, John Keenan and Sean Og McKenna, Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine, Seamus Ennis, Willy Clancy and Mairtin Byrnes.

[15] Kelly was the leading vocalist for the group's eponymous debut album in 1964, which included his rendition of "The Rocky Road to Dublin".

[16] Kelly went back to London with Deirdre O'Connell, founder of the Focus Theatre, whom he was to marry the following year, and became involved in Ewan MacColl's "gathering".

Kelly also met and befriended Michael O'Riordan, the General Secretary of the Irish Workers' Party, and the two developed a "personal-political friendship".

[6] They were on the road to success: Top Twenty hits with "Seven Drunken Nights" and "The Black Velvet Band", The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968 and a tour of New Zealand and Australia.

The ballad boom in Ireland was becoming increasingly commercialised with bar and pub owners building ever larger venues for pay-in performances.

[citation needed] As an actor, Kelly performed in the 1969 Dublin Theatre Festival, playing the role of Sergeant Kite in The Mullingar Recruits.

[citation needed] In 1972 The Dubliners themselves performed in Richard's Cork Leg, based on the "incomplete works" of Brendan Behan.

[23] Kelly remained a politically engaged musician,[24] becoming a supporter of the movement against South African apartheid and performing at benefit concerts for the Irish Traveller community,[3] and many of the songs he recorded dealt with social issues, the arms race and the Cold War, trade unionism and Irish republicanism, ("The Springhill Disaster", "Joe Hill", "The Button Pusher", "Alabama 1958" and "God Save Ireland" all being examples of his concerns).

Luke Kelly's legacy and contributions to Irish music and culture have been described as "iconic" and have been captured in a number of documentaries and anthologies.

In 2010, councillor Christy Burke of Dublin City Council appealed to members of the music community including Bono, Phil Coulter and Enya to help build it.

[31] At Christmas 2005 writer-director Michael Feeney Callan's documentary, Luke Kelly: The Performer, was released and soon acquired platinum sales status.

The documentary told Kelly's story through the words of the Dubliners, Donovan, Ralph McTell and others and featured full versions of rarely seen performances such as the early sixties' Ed Sullivan Show.