Earlier this year Bonham's Auction House announced they'd be auctioning one of the most famous guitars in rock, Rory Gallagher's road-worn 1961 Fender Stratocaster, an instrument he purchased for £100 from Crowley’s Music Store in Cork, Ireland, in 1963, and played throughout his career.
While the sale was organised in conjunction with Donal Gallagher, the late guitarist's younger brother and manager, many in Ireland were dismayed by the prospect of the iconic instrument disappearing into a private collection, and a crowdfunding campaign to bring the guitar home to Cork was launched by Sheena Crowley, daughter of the man who sold Gallagher the guitar more than 60 years ago.
As part of the campaign, a tribute show was held at Cork City Hall earlier this month, and that show can now be watched online in its entirety. The evening was hosted by Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlaí, while the artists performing on the night included local acts Hot Guitars with Sean Long, Moonchild with Sam Healy, The Watermelons with Eoghan Regan and Andrea Bonino, Brian Tambling with Richie Foley, and Tres Hombres with Brian Tambling, whose were joined onstage by Rory Gallagher's longtime bassist Gerry McAvoy.
The night also saw spoken contributions from Dan Boyle, the Lord Mayor of Cork, and Sheena Crowley.
"This is about raising as much money as we can to bring the Strat back," Crowley told the crowd. "I would love that we do it together as people, as a group, and make it happen, because to me music is sacred, and if music is sacred, what are the musicians? I want to create space for them, I want to have them more appreciated and valued, and I want to create something really ideal."
Crowley hopes to use the funds to set up a museum that celebrates Cork's musical heritage, with the main attraction being a permanent Rory Gallagher exhibit.
At the time of writing, Crowley's GoFundMe campaign has raised €63,681 of its €1,000,000 target.
