A statue of the legendary Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher has been unveiled in Belfast city centre – check it out below.
The rock and blues musician is often cited by other guitarists, including Eric Clapton, The Edge and Brian May, as one of the greatest players of all time, both for his solo work and for his time leading the band Taste in the 1960s.
The County Donegal native played in Belfast many times over his three-decade career and now he has been immortalised with a bronze statue outside the city’s Ulster Hall on Bedford Street, with a ceremony being held to mark its unveiling.
“He’s finally here!” announced the venue on X on Saturday (January 4). “Today we’re celebrating the legacy of Rory Gallagher with the unveiling of a new statue of the legendary guitarist outside Ulster Hall.”
He’s finally here! Today we’re celebrating the legacy of Rory Gallagher with the unveiling of a new statue of the legendary guitarist outside Ulster Hall. The festivities continue this evening with a special screening of the documentary ‘Irish Tour ‘74’: https://t.co/Rj3PkzT5Rh pic.twitter.com/EaxpMDR0l5
— Ulster Hall | Live Entertainment Belfast (@UlsterHall) January 4, 2025
Members of Gallagher’s family were joined by fans and local signatories for the unveiling, with the Lord Mayor of Belfast Mickey Murray commending Gallagher’s authenticity and talent.
The statue itself was created by Anto Brennan, Jessica Checkley and David O’Brien of Bronze Art Ireland, with the design being inspired by a photograph that first featured on the cover of a January 1972 issue of Melody Maker magazine.
Barry McGivern of the Rory Gallagher Statue Project Trust told the BBC that he felt it was a “fitting tribute” to the musician.
Speaking about his close connections to the city, he added: “In Belfast, with Taste, he would have played with John Wilson and Richard McCracken [from Northern Ireland], they were a power trio and that helped to give him his wings, and the people of Belfast allowed him to flourish.”
“When he played the Maritime in Belfast, there were queues the whole way round the block to the New Vic. Rory also lived in a guest house in Cromwell Road off Botanic Avenue. He would have played various venues in Belfast as well as the Maritime, including the Ulster Hall, Queen’s University, the Grosvenor Hall, Sammy Houston’s Jazz club, Romano’s, and the Pound.”
Gallagher has regularly been voted as one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, and he sold over 30 million records worldwide. His most celebrated albums include his self-titled solo debut in 1971, ‘Deuce’ later the same year and the live albums ‘Live! In Europe’ (1972) and ‘Irish Tour ‘74’ (1974).
Ulster Hall will be screening a documentary film inspired by the latter album tonight (January 4) to mark the occasion.
Gallagher had a number of health problems, before being admitted to hospital in London in 1995 for liver failure. After contracting hospital superbug MRSA, he passed away later that year at the age of 47.
