Rory Gallagher (1948-1995), a founding figure of Irish rock music

I recently hosted an event at the Embassy marking the 40th anniversary of blues guitarist, Rory Gallagher’s Irish Tour 1974, which was a key moment in the history of rock music in Ireland. Here is what I said on the occasion.

As time goes by, we all gradually become part of history!

We are here this evening to commemorate Rory Gallagher's 1974 Irish Tour with a 40th Anniversary reissue of the music he played at those memorable concerts around Ireland. And, with some trepidation, I can say that 'I was there'. As a student at University College Cork, Rory's annual concert in Cork was a highlight of our rock music year.

The Irish Tour 1974 took place at a turbulent time in Ireland and Rory Gallagher deserves credit for the fact that he toured Ireland, North and South, bringing together people of different backgrounds around their shared enthusiasm for Rory's music.

Those who came of age in more recent times probably find it hard to grasp how important pop & rock music was to those of us who grew up in the Ireland of the 1960s (and probably in other countries also). For me, the music of the late 1960s and early 1970s was a window that provided glimpses into a rapidly-changing world outside.

In a country with just one radio station, inevitably there were limited opportunities to listen to the new music of that time. At night at my home in Waterford, I remember listening on my small transistor radio to the latest releases on Radio Caroline & Radio Luxembourg. I acquired a record player for Christmas in 1967 and began buying LPs whenever funds permitted, and swapping them with school-friends who were equally enchanted by the sounds of the 1960s. I still have those vinyl antiques, including a copy of Rory Gallagher's Tattoo.

Those sounds were, of course, predominantly of British and American origin - the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, CSNY etc. It was only when Taste came along with Rory Gallagher playing guitar as brilliantly as anyone in the world that we realised this exciting new music could also have an Irish accent.

It was against this background that I and others like me relished the annual pilgrimage to Rory's hometown gig in Cork's City Hall. There was a special atmosphere at those concerts, derived from the fact that the star of the show, the only international rock star that many of us ever got to see in Cork in those days, was 'one of our own'. Even if he had been born in County Donegal, he was a Cork legend, a fellow Munster man. When he sang 'Going to my Hometown', the roof was almost lifted off by the roar of appreciation.

Ireland has changed enormously since those days and rock music is now an integral part of our contemporary Irish culture. It is one of the art forms through which Irish people now express themselves. This is part of the openness and diversity of today's Ireland, a country, which seeks to combine traditional values with a dynamic society and an advanced economy.

It is no longer a novelty to see Irish acts attracting international popularity as Thin Lizzy, U2 and many others followed in Rory Gallagher's footsteps on the way to international rock stardom. Over the years, the Chieftains have recorded with many international artists to demonstrate that our traditional sounds can combine to good effect with other musical genres.

I like the fact that, in today's Ireland, we retain a strong strand of Irish traditional music alongside a vibrant contemporary music scene and, indeed, have many fine classical music performers also. In any Irish town, you can find a traditional music session and a rock music venue on the same street and attracting the same people, who will happily move between these musical genres.

Although, my musical tastes have expanded and diversified in the 40 years since I was charmed by the sound of Rory Gallagher's electric guitar, I retain fond memories of those, for me, halcyon days when rock music wove its magic and helped shape my youthful identity.

Rory Gallagher is commemorated through memorials and place names in Cork, Dublin and Ballyshannon. The annual festival devoted to his music which takes place in Ballyshannon in May is one of the many local cultural festivals that attract visitors to Ireland each year.

I am delighted to be able to welcome Rory's brother, Donal, here this evening, as well as the representatives of Sony Music, to remember a giant of Irish music and a global blues star, Cork's (and Donegal's) own Rory Gallagher. Was it really 40 years ago that I first saw Rory play live and heard his unique blues voice which still has the power to transport me back to my student days?

Daniel Mulhall is Ireland's Ambassador in London.