Today In Irish History

March 2: TODAY in Irish History:

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Rory Gallagh

Snippets of Irish History by Conor Cunneen IrishmanSpeaks 

Conor is a Chicago based Motivational Humorous Business Speaker, Author and History buff.

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1836: Texas Declares Independence (Huh! Irish History?)

Texas declares its independence from Mexico at a meeting in Washington on the Brazos, Texas. At the time, at least ten Irish born soldiers were fighting at the Alamo (Feb 23-March 6) with Davy Crockett (Irish extraction). All would die four days later.

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1948: Guitar Legend Rory Gallagher

Irish blues guitarist legend Rory Gallagher is born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.

When a wee lad, Rory’s family moved to Cork where he discovered blues music on American Forces Radio. By the time he was twenty-one, he was recognized as one of the finest guitarists in the world. In 1971, the UK music paper Melody Maker voters gave Gallagher top spot over Eric Clapton (correctly).

Legend has it that when Jimmi Hendrix was asked what it felt like to be the best guitar player in the world, he responded “I don’t know. Ask Rory Gallagher.” Although almost certainly apocryphal, the story does highlight the legend that the unassuming Gallagher became.

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Off stage, Gallagher was described as painfully shy, something his adoring audiences found hard to believe. On stage, he was one of the most electrifying artists that ever played a Fender Stratocaster playing marathon concerts of more than three hours, night after night. Gallagher first broke through with Taste (drummer John Wilson, bassist Richard McCracken). The band played a blistering set at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival (where Hendrix also performed), returning for seven encores!

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“Artistic differences” saw the demise of this power blues trio, but Gallagher went on to have a lengthy career selling more than thirty millions records in one of the most hard-gigging careers of any music legend.

Artists as diverse as U2’s Edge, Slash and Brian May state that Gallagher was a huge influence on their career.

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SLASH on Rory Gallagher

Although, he toured the US more than twenty times, Gallagher never made it big in the world’s largest market. Some experts attribute this to the fact that he was not interested in developing commercial, radio friendly, three minute material. The gentle giant of Irish blues died in London June 14, 1995 from complications following a liver transplant required as a result of long time alcohol abuse.

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1979. Death of Hurling Great Christy Ring

Christ Ring 1920-1979

Cork hurling great and possibly the greatest hurler of all time, Christy Ring went to the great hurling stadium in the sky. Born in Cloyne, Co. Cork, the hurling legend won eight All-Ireland hurling championships in a twenty-five year career with the rebel county.

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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish

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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker and award winning humorist IrishmanSpeaks – Conor Cunneen. If you spot any inaccuracies or wish to make a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment button.

Visit Conor’s YouTube channel IrishmanSpeaks to Laugh and Learn.

Tags: Best Irish Gift, Creative Irish Gift, Unique Irish Gifts, Irish Books, Irish Authors, Today in Irish History TODAY IN IRISH HISTORY (published by IrishmanSpeaks)

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