Colm Weadick makes no secret of his hero worship. He greets visitors to his Arklow home wearing a Phil Lynott tee-shirt, the great man's extravagant Afro hair a contrast to his own tight-shorn locks. Inside the house, the sitting room is festooned with pictures. Lynott on the Ha'penny Bridge. Lynott photographed sharing a stage with Rory Gallagher. Lynott cartoons, Lynott posters, Lynott letters.
'He was a genius at song writing,' says Colm simply when asked to explain the appeal, his one great regret being that he never saw Philo in live action before death came calling on January 4 in 1986. There is music in Colm's family. Uncle Joe played trombone in the Red Seven showband. And Duff McKagan, once bassist with hard rockers Guns 'n Roses, is his mother Marie's fourth cousin.