Philomena Lynott, mother of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, turned 83 on Oct. 22 -- and some uninvited guests almost made it a very unhappy birthday.

The Irish Independent reports that Lynott suffered a break-in -- in broad daylight, no less -- that was narrowly foiled thanks to a well-timed phone call. Lynott told the paper that she was relaxing at home after a birthday visit from her nephew, who pulled out of her driveway just after 5 P.M. "I heard noise but I thought it was the flower pots rattling in the wind," she recalled, admitting she had no idea that three men had just gained entry into her home by smashing through a window. "The phone had been going off all day with Phil's fans ringing to wish me a happy birthday."

Fortunately, Lynott decided to call her nephew, who didn't pick up right away. But when he called back, the sound of the conversation alerted the would-be thieves that they weren't alone in the house, and they quickly turned tail. Still not realizing what had happened, Lynott actually ended up seeing the perps in her driveway as they left. Thinking they were fans stopping by to wish her a happy birthday, she gave them a wave. "The tallest one waved back," she said. "I really had no idea who they were."

The foiled burglary attempt caps an eventful month for Lynott, who was in the news several weeks ago when she found herself at the center of some surprising confusion over the new film 'Philomena.' The movie, starring Judi Dench, tells a story with some close parallels to Lynott's own life, which ended up causing some problems. "I have been receiving letters and calls from fans all around the world who believe the new film is my story," she explained in an interview. "Some of them are quite upset as they wonder why I didn’t let them know or invite them to a launch. So it has been quite distressing."

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