Cork Rocks for Rory again at Fitzgerald's Park this summer

Not in any way like a Bad Penny, the music of Leeside’s favourite Wayward Child is again Going To (His) Hometown, as for the second summer in a row, Cork Rocks for Rory.

If you’re wondering What’s Going On, the banks of the Lee – only a little upstream from where it could be called the Mercy River - will again this summer see Cork City Council host a free open-air concert celebrating the legacy of legendary guitarist Rory Gallagher.

Rory wasn’t born here – that honour went to Ballyshannon, in 1948 – but it was in Cork that he learned his Cradle Rock, and in the late 1950s he played in the parish hall at the back of St Augustine’s Church, which will later this summer sadly close For The Last Time.

On Saturday, April 22, 1961, the front page of the 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”.

It would not, by a Country Mile, be the last time Rory would make the headlines.

Cork Rocks for Rory is organised by Cork City Council, in association with the Rory Gallagher estate.

The event debuted last year, and returns with an expanded programme this June. Among the highlights will be a free live open-air concert in Fitzgerald Park – which, As The Crow Flies, is not A Million Miles Away.

Building on the success of last year’s event, a line-up of Cork musicians will once again take to the stage in Fitzgerald Park to celebrate Rory Gallagher’s music, and u won’t have to Walk On Hot Coals to get to it.

Curated by Sheena Crowley of Crowley’s Music Centre — where Rory famously purchased his Fender Stratocaster – the gig will feature Tres Hombres, The Crew, Hot Guitars and Dying Breed, performing some of Rory’s most famous songs.

Cork Rocks For Rory in Fitzgerald's Park from 1pm to 6pm on Sunday, June 14. Admission to the concert is free.

The gig is sure to be a cure for the Summertime Blues – even if that one was an Eddie Cohran cover – and you’ll be on the Crest of A Wave afterward.