Memorial in UK has jukebox loaded with Joe Dolan hits

A white marble solar-powered jukebox loaded with Joe Dolan hits has been installed as part of a controversial grave memorial in honour of a deceased Athlone man in the UK.

Sheffield City Council is understood to be unhappy about the elaborate memorial recently erected to Athlone native William ‘Willy’ Collins – nicknamed ‘The King of Sheffield’ – at a cemetery in his adopted home city.

The tribute, which is estimated to have cost in region of £200,000, is of Italian marble and includes a solar-powered jukebox featuring the cover of Joe Dolan’s Greatest Hits and loaded with songs by the singer.

Mr Collins’s widow Kathleen told The Sunday World how much the family loved Joe Dolan: “Me and my husband and children idolised Joe. He used to play him to me when we were courting,” she said.

She and other family members recently visited Mullingar and posed for photos at the Joe Dolan statue and visited the singer’s grave at Walshestown.

Mr Collins was born in Athlone on December 11, 1970, and is believed to have moved to England at the age of nine or 10. The wording on his headstone states that he ‘went to Heaven on 7 July 2020, aged 49 years, in Puerto Pollensa, Spain’.

The deceased was a bare-knuckle boxer and father of nine. British media reports stated that he sometimes trained in the Sheffield gym of Brendan Ingle, the late Dubliner who coached former professional world champion ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, among others.

The size and scale of his memorial, which includes two life-sized statues of Mr Collins, a number of statues of Biblical imagery, and four Irish tricolours, has attracted widespread attention.

In a statement last week, Sheffield City Council said it had approved a monument to Mr Collins, but had not given permission for the one that was ultimately erected. “Sheffield City Council approved plans for a memorial; however the plans which were submitted and approved differ from the memorial now in place.

“This was not fully appreciated until after the structure was fully unveiled,” said Cllr Alison Teal, executive member for Sustainable Neighbourhoods, Wellbeing, Parks and Leisure at the city council.

Cllr Teal said the local authority “intend to discuss changes which need to be made in order to satisfy the cemetery rules and take into consideration other cemetery users. It would not be appropriate to discuss the details further as this is a sensitive matter and we wish to speak with the family fully in the coming days,” she added, in a statement.

More than 20 months after his death, Mr Collins’ headstone was unveiled on St Patrick’s Day. “Appearing as nothing less than a modern day mausoleum, Willy’s grave is now marked by a 37-ton monument,” wrote Alastair Ulke of the Sheffield Star.

“It features two life-sized statues of the bare-knuckle boxer’s six-foot-two frame, and is crafted from solid Carrara marble from Italy.

“Other features include four flagpoles, depictions of Jesus Christ and biblical scenes, and a solar-powered jukebox playing the patriarch’s favourite tracks – which mourners can also connect to through Bluetooth and play their own songs.

“The headstone is lit up in LED lights that change colour and is under 24-hour CCTV monitoring, which his family can also access on their phones and use to ‘speak’ to him.”

The controversial monument has had coverage on the BBC, Daily Mail and Guardian.