'City Hall gigs made Rory a Cork icon': Night to bring Strat home

More than 60 years after a Cork schoolboy first appeared in City Hall as the winner of a talent competition, that venue will host an evening dedicated to the music of “The Kid”, as Rory Gallagher is remembered in his hometown.

Rory, who could uncontroversially be called Ireland’s first rock star, was born in the Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon in Co Donegal on Tuesday, March 2, 1948, and he moved to Cork with his mother Monica and his younger brother Donal in 1956.

He passed away 29 years ago, at the age of 47, three decades into a career that saw him tour the world, release 14 albums as a solo artist during his lifetime, and become one of the world’s most influential musicians.

In recent weeks, there has been much upset about the planned sale in London in October of the blues and rock legend’s 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, which is expected to sell for an estimated £700,000 (€833,000) to £1 million.

The guitar that a 15-year-old Rory persuaded his mother to buy for £100 from Michael Crowley at Crowley’s Music Centre on Merchant’s Quay in 1963 is likely to fall into private hands at the auction.

More than six decades after her father sold the iconic guitar, Sheena Crowley, proprietor of Crowley’s Music Centre on Friar Street, has launched a GoFundMe campaign entitled ‘Help Bring Rory Gallagher’s Strat Back to his Home Town’, in the hope of raising enough money to buy the guitar and bring it permanently home to Leeside.

A month into the fundraiser, Ms Crowley already raised over €31,600 and she has now organised a concert night in Rory’s honour in Cork City Hall.

She told The Echo the main aim of the night is to raise money for the GoFundMe, and to boost awareness of the campaign.

“Four acts will cover a range of tracks from a vast array of Rory’s albums on the night, all of them playing for free,” she said.

“Hot Guitars with Sean Long, Moonchild with Sam Healy, The Watermelons with Eoghan Regan, Tres Hombres with Brian Tambling, and Rory’s bass guitarist Gerry McAvoy. They are all going to help bring the Strat back to Rory’s Hometown.

“We are campaigning to be the keepers of his beloved Strat with the understanding and respect of how precious his legacy is.

“It will be a fantastic night, and we are urging people not to miss out on this opportunity to pay tribute to one of Ireland's greatest musical talents,” Ms Crowley said.

Rory Gallagher played City Hall multiple times throughout his career, although there appears to be some uncertainty as to when he first appeared there, with some websites listing the date as 1960, when he is reported to have won a talent contest there.

However, we can say for certain that on Saturday, April 22, 1961, the front page of the then Evening Echo featured a photograph of a 13-year-old schoolboy, “Rory Gallagher, MacCurtain Street, Cork, one of the winners at the TV Talent Competition at the City Hall, Cork”, taken on the roof of this newspaper’s offices, which were then in Academy Street.

Half a century ago, in 1974, he played four gigs at City Hall, two in January and two at the end of December.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, said he has been working with Ms Crowley to organise the upcoming event.

“Rory’s concerts in City Hall were at the heart of why he became an icon of Cork,” Mr Boyle said.

“This concert will be a reminder of how great his music has been and always will be.

“It will also help increase awareness and public support for bringing Rory’s guitar home.”

Rory Gallagher Night is at 7pm on Sunday, September 15, in Cork City Hall, with doors opening at 6pm.

It will be a seated event, and tickets, which are €25, are on sale at Crowley’s Music Centre and on Eventbrite.