Get set for a celebration of Rory in Cork 

Even if there was only a handful of reporters in the room to witness it, the upstairs room of Cork’s Oliver Plunkett bar was hopping at 11am on Monday, with US rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa leading his four-piece band through a blistering if brief set of Rory Gallagher covers.

From ‘Cradle Rock’ to ‘Bullfrog Blues’, the cobwebs were well and truly blown away by midday, although Rory’s brother Donal did confide afterwards that he was more used to hearing that sort of thing in the pm than the am.

Joe Bonamassa, the blue-collar bluesman from Utica, New York, had come to Cork to announce a pair of summer gigs honouring Rory Gallagher on the 30th anniversary of his passing.

It was supposed to be a media event only, but downstairs some of Cork’s finest musicians and wisest (and greyest) heads showed up anyway to listen on the speakers. Afterwards, Joe dropped down to say hello.

The concerts, the first to be announced of the 2025 Live at the Marquee festival, were unveiled by promotor Peter Aiken, who described them as his and Joe Bonamassa’s “deeply personal project”.

A rumour had done the rounds before Monday morning’s shindig that maybe Peter was going to announce that he or Joe were going to buy Rory’s famous 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster.

Due to go up for auction in London later this month, it’s expected to fetch upward of £1 million (€1.19m).

The guitar was bought by Rory’s mother in 1963 from Michael Crowley for £100. Now a GoFundMe campaign to buy it for the people of Cork, started by Michael’s daughter Sheena, has already received pledges worth over €65,000.

Joe Bonamassa, a world-class guitarist who at the age of 12 opened for the venerable BB King, is one of the world’s leading guitar collectors — as he now owns over 700 vintage instruments.

Joe has often talked about what an influence Rory was on him, and Peter often mentions that his late father, Jim, had promoted Rory’s 1974 Irish Tour, in which the Lee Delta bluesman had played Belfast’s Ulster Hall. It was at a time when joy and wonder were rare commodities in a bombed-out city scarred by the violence and despair of the Troubles.

Who better then than Joe to buy the guitar, went one theory, and who better to give it to the people of Cork, went another, than Peter Aiken, the man whose Live at the Marquee is next year celebrating 20 years since first — in his own words — he “put up a tent in a car park” and brought a million-and-a-half concert-goers to Leeside?

At the press conference to announce the two summer gigs, after Joe said that he wasn’t interested in buying the guitar himself, The Echo asked him straight out would he give us a few bob toward it.

“Who says I didn’t already?” he shot back, adding: “When I saw the GoFundMe, I was like, ‘I got a couple of grand for that’.”

Later, he told us he felt the guitar belonged in Ireland and “should never leave”.

“I don’t want to own it, because it’s not my story, it’s part of Rory’s story, it’s part of Ireland’s story, it belongs here and should never leave,” he said.

“I think it’s a national treasure that should stay here.”

He added that his wish would be that the instrument be not just an exhibit, but rather be played “like it was meant to be”, but he added that might be a steep enough ambition.

“It’s going to take someone with a lot of money to buy it, and hopefully that’ll be someone who will let it stay here in Ireland,” he said.

Gerry McAvoy, Rory’s old friend and bass-man, said he had got a great kick out of the gig, and he hoped the Strat would stay in Ireland “in some shape or fashion”.

“I can understand the auction. Donal and [his son] Daniel and all the family, they’ve kept the flame alive for many, many years, and it’s not just the iconic guitar, it’s all the other guitars, people should be using them, I think it’s a good idea,” Gerry said.

“No matter how the auction goes, I think it still would be nice if the guitars stay in Ireland.”

Later, Peter Aiken, chatting under a photograph of Rory in his prime, said he simply could not think of any better musician to do justice to Rory than Joe Bonamassa.

“This isn’t a tribute act, this is a celebration, he’s the real deal and you couldn’t think of another guitarist who has the chops to pull off the Rory thing,” Mr Aiken said.

“I’ve met Joe a good few times, and I really wanted people to see just how genuine he is; any time I met him, he would bring up Rory, not me, and that’s how into Rory he is, but he’s not gonna sing like Rory, he’s gonna stay true to Rory while still doing his own thing.

“That’s why I think it’s a celebration of Rory, rather than a tribute act.”

Donal Gallagher said he felt “mind-blown and lost for words” at Joe Bonamassa’s interpretation of his late brother’s work, especially coming up to the 30th anniversary of his passing.

“Every day is an anniversary, in some ways, particularly when it’s the 10s, 15s, 20s, but for this to happen is extraordinary,” Donal said.

“To have something in Cork, where Rory is sadly buried, for his anniversary, this is Rory’s hometown, I couldn’t even think of anyone else I would want to do this for him.

“If someone said, ‘Put your wish-list together,’ Joe would be top of that list.”

Joe Bonamassa plays Rory Gallagher Live at the Marquee on July 1 and 2. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster tomorrow.