Today In Irish History

June 14: TODAY in Irish History:

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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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WATCH: A Short History of Ireland

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1884: Count John McCormack

Tenor John McCormack is born in Athlone. After studying in Italy, in 1907 he became the youngest leading tenor at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. He won numerous accolades as a singer and was created a Papal Count in 1928 for his services to the Catholic Church. He had a minor film career but was a huge opera star in Europe and America. He died September 1945 from respiratory problems.

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READ: Detailed biography of Count John McCormack

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John McCormack sings My Wild Irish Rose

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1995:  Rory Gallagher R.I.P.

Irish blues guitarist legend Rory Gallagher dies in a London hospital from complications following a liver transplant required as a result of longtime alcohol abuse.

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 shy unassuming Gallagher became. Born in Ballyshannon Co. Donegal, Rory’s family moved to Cork at a young age where he discovered blues music on American Forces Radio.

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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 to play 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’s blistering set at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival (where Hendrix also performed) ensured 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

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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, but those who saw him perform live are unlikely to forget his vibrant performances.

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READ: Donal Gallagher on brother Rory

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WATCH: A Short History of Ireland

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.

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