Elvis Presley superfans are in for a treat as one Dublin megafan has opened a very special museum in his home dedicated to the beloved King of Rock and Roll.
Dubliner Maurice Colgan, 80, lives in Swords and ever since he was a teenager he has been a big fan of Elvis. He told Dublin Live this week: "I opened the Elvis Presley Story Museum here in Swords in my living room just over a year ago. I've always been a big fan of Elvis since I was a teenager, hearing his music blaring from a jukebox."
This week is also a poignant time for fans as Tuesday marked the anniversary of Elvis's untimely death 45 years ago. He was just 41 when he suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Graceland.
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Maurice and his wife Maureen also played an important role in the beloved statue of the 'Elvis at 13' life-size bronze statue being put up outside the King of Rock's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi in the US in 2002. He explained: "I wrote to the mayor of Tupelo Larry Otis asking him if a statue of a young Elvis carrying his guitar could be put up outside the house where he was born in Tupelo, and the mayor agreed. The bronze statue was sculpted by Michael Van der Sommen, and we went out there to see it unveiled."
In 2021, Priscilla Presley was selling a small replica statuette of the iconic life-sized 'Elvis at 13' and Maurice successfully bid on it. "Me and my wife also won a trip to Graceland from RTE which was wonderful, and my wife herself even got a letter from Elvis when she was sick in hospital," added Maurice.
Now, Maurice's living room is filled with fantastic Elvis memorabilia such as hand-written letters from Elvis himself, vinyl CDs, posters, movies, pictures, and much more. He explained that people come "from all over the world" to see the Elvis museum in Dublin.
He said: "This week we had fans from Cork, Dublin, and Singapore visiting us. We also get a lot of fans coming from America and Germany, too. People always ask me how I got into collecting Elvis memorabilia, it was just a hobby collecting his music and then going to see his films at the cinema which was wonderful."
Meanwhile, Maurice has also met Elvis's guitarist Scotty Moore, bringing them on a tour of Tulepo and giving them magazines and reflecting on a memorable visit to Ireland. He also visited Elvis's cousin Donna Presley and stayed with the family, hearing first-hand stories about the King of Rock.
Maurice said: "I have a million and one stories. One particular star Anne Helm from the film 'Follow That Dream' with Elvis sent us a lovely letter and a photo of her stood on Elvis's toes.
"So it's things like that's made the museum so very interesting for people. I have quite a few unique items that a lot of people wouldn't have, and then another highlight was the sculptor Michael Van der Sommen who made the original Elvis at 13 statue bronze statue was a guest here in our home.
"The day he was leaving he said 'what else can I do on Elvis'? and my wife showing him a photo of a toddler Elvis stood between his parents and she said to him: 'That's a very famous photograph, if you could do a little statuette that would be great.'
"He made one and they were on sale in the Elvis shop and Elvis's birthplace. My wife was absolutely delighted, he sent her one and the sculptor also sent me a replica of the statue, so I have two of the statues of Elvis, the one from Priscilla and the one he sent me earlier."
Maurice said Elvis is still as popular as ever with fans. "Anything owned by Elvis is worth huge money, he used to give his watches and guitars away to people at his shows and they would be worth millions," he added.
A tour of Maurice's Elvis museum is free to the public although sometimes people like to make contributions. If you are interested in viewing Maurice's amazing collection, you can contact him on 01-8403685.
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