Public backing campaign to keep Rory Gallagher's guitar in Cork 

Almost 400 people have donated more than €18,000 in less than a week to a crowdfunding campaign initiated by Crowley Music Shop owner Sheena Crowley, aimed at bringing Rory Gallagher’s iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar back to the musician’s home city to become the centrepiece of a new music museum on the banks of the Lee.

The guitar, now valued at more than £1m, was originally purchased for £100 on an instalment plan by the then-teenage musician after he had been recruited to join a showband. It was sold to him by Sheena’s father Michael Crowley, the then proprietor of Crowley’s Music Shop.

Speaking to The Echo on Sunday, Ms Crowley said that the priority was to get the guitar back to Cork.

“To house something like that, you would need a substantial building, and if you have that you should have the history of music in Ireland there — the history of music matters, right?

“Rory Gallagher is a huge part of our history because an awful lot of musicians would have developed as a result of listening to him,” she said.

Museum

When put to her that it might be an option to include the music museum in the plans for Cork’s long-awaited event centre, Ms Crowley did not pour cold water on the proposal.

She said that she had approached politicians about the idea of a music museum previously and she had earmarked a building for the project as far back as 2012, but the property had since been sold.

However, she said that she had another building in mind for the project which she had often discussed with the late musician’s brother and manager, Donal Gallagher.

Auction

Mr Gallagher announced last week that the famous Stratocaster, as well as the rest of his brother’s collection of instruments, would be sold at auction in London this October.

On the GoFundMe page, Ms Crowley described the instrument as the “magical guitar”, and said it meant a great deal to the people of Cork.

She added news of the impending auction had caused “everyone in Cork and Ireland to gasp with shock and surprise”.

The top donation so far has been a contribution of €1,000 from Live Nation Ireland, the backers of many leading music festivals.

The fundraising page can be found on the GoFundMe website by searching for “help Bring Rory Gallaher’s Strat back to his home town”.