The night a young Rory Gallagher went trad at a farm hooley in Blarney

PICTURE the scene: A farmyard party near Blarney one evening in the early 1960s, and an impromptu music session has struck up.

At the get-together, to bid farewell to a family member on the farm in Birch Hill who is heading back to New York, are a young cousin who lives in Cork city, and a neighbouring family living in Rathduff.

The city boy has brought his guitar and his name is Rory Gallagher. The neighbours are the now-famous traditional music-loving Cranitch family.

Rory’s brother, Donal, recalls what happened next: “The Cranitch family began playing, encouraging Rory to join in with the traditional music.”

It conjures up a wonderful image of a meeting of musical minds. Rory, of course, went on to be acclaimed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Remarkably, that wasn’t the only time his path crossed with the Cranitch family in Cork.

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On April 20, 1961, when Rory was 13 and living at 27, MacCurtain Street, he won a talent contest at City Hall, sponsored by the Evening Echo in conjunction with the Ideal Homes Exhibition.

Among the heat winners were the Cranitch Quartet - made up of Peadar, Eilís, Matt and their father Micheál.

Micheál, an accordion and fiddle player, a Fianna Fáil politician, and future cathaoirleach of the Seanad, passed on his appreciation of music to all his children, with Matt becoming one of the best fiddle-players in Ireland.

The picture of Gallagher on the right was published on the front page of the Evening Echo two days after his success in the heats of the competition.

It was taken on the roof of the Echo and Examiner building on Academy Street, and sub-editor Blake Creedon explained: “The roof was used as an outdoor studio for generations. Natural light, privacy, and - possibly the clincher - convenient, as the photographic department occupied the top floors of the building.”

The talent competition ran alongside the home exhibition for 10 days between April 12-22, 1961, with 50 stands of home furnishings, kitchen displays, demonstrations of waterless cooking, wine and cheese exhibits, free samples, free film shows, a fully licensed bar, and three shows a day showcasing “many of the most talented entertainers in Munster”.

The talent show was compered by Roy Croft of Radio Éireann fame. His former radio programme, Beginners Please, was Ireland’s first broadcast talent show. Clearly, Roy was in his element here.

An ad for the talent competition stressed this wasn’t to be any old contest but a “serious effort to discover talent for television”.

Ireland was set to get its very own TV station later that year, and it was time to find the stars for it. The channel was launched as Telefís Éireann on December 31, 1961, renamed RTÉ in 1966.

Rory’s brother Dónal says of the contest: “I remember going to City Hall to see my brother perform there. It was being held in the balcony area of City Hall, which was screened off with large theatrical drapes from the main downstairs (which was being used by the exhibitors) and the space had its own stage constructed.

“From memory, Rory performed Lonnie Donegan’s Rock Island Line and maybe Grand Coulee Dam by Woody Guthrie. In his summation, compere Croft referred to Rory’s ‘fire, energy and passion’ in the delivery of the songs.

“After his qualification, he was asked to go to the Examiner’s offices the next day to have his picture taken. I hadn’t done my homework and wasn’t allowed to go with him, but, when the picture was published, the family and I were all so thrilled and proud of Rory.”

Some of the other talent show heat winners were The Harmonicats, the Wanderers’ Vocal Group, the Drifters’ Modern Dance Band, singer Bridie Herion, of Mt Farran, Assumption Road, tenor Edward Murphy, and comedian Jim Allen, from Carrigaline.

Many winners were children, including Dominic Long, a boy soprano from Scoil Criost Rí, Michael Kearney, of Assumption Road, on the bagpipes, and singer Ann Ring, of Main Street, Macroom.

Rarely can a talent show winner have gone so far. Five years later, Rory would seek his fame and fortune: first with his band Taste, then later as a solo artist.

He would return often to play sold-out concerts at City Hall, most notably 50 years ago, in 1974, when Tony Palmer filmed his documentary, Irish Tour ’74, which chronicled the star’s shows in Dublin, Belfast and Cork.

Rory’s live album from that tour was mostly recorded at Cork City Hall and is estimated to have sold millions globally.

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There is yet another connection between Rory Gallagher, who died in 1995, and Matt Cranitch, who has won All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles in a glittering musical career which has seen him tour around the world.

On November 18, 1993, Rory was persuaded to headline the inaugural Cork Arts Fest, playing an acoustic gig in the West Atrium of the Bishopstown college campus. It was Matt who organised it.

“I did know Rory, and indeed I was responsible for organising the concert,” said Matt of the event 30 years ago.

It took place at Cork Regional Technical College (Cork RTC), later renamed Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), and recently renamed Munster Technological University (MTU).

“Rory’s uncle, Jim Roche, had been principal of that institution, and there had been a long-standing family promise that Rory would do a concert in the college,” explained Matt. “Jim died prematurely, but still the promise held good.

“I was a lecturer/professor in Cork RTC at the time, and it fell to me to follow up on the Rory concert.”

Peter Somers, Timetabling Co-ordinator of CIT, said: “Rory’s concert was the highlight of the inaugural Cork Arts Fest and also an acknowledgement of his uncle Jim, with whom Rory had a very close bond.”