New film examines the life and career of rock and blues legend Rory Gallagher

Renowned as one of the best blues guitar players of all time, Rory was born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal and brought up in Co Cork.

However, he also had strong connections to his father Danny’s home town of Derry and lived in the city for a time, even attending the Christian Brothers at Brow-of-the-Hill as a boy.

In fact, his brother Dónal, who was born in Derry and will feature in ‘The Rory Gallagher Story’ at 10.30pm on BBC1 on June 9, in an interview in 2019 told Jamie Dickson of ‘Guitarist’ magazine that it was in the Maiden City that the guitar legend first became interested in blues music.

“I remember it as being when we were living in Derry, in the north of Ireland. We were in the Bogside, which was where my father came from.

"That was just post-war, and the Port of Derry had been given over to the American navy. That was their base for Europe, which had been through the Second World War, and the Americans had lingered on because of the Cold War.

“They had built a massive antenna to transmit AFN [American Forces Network] radio and, basically, the early radios couldn’t keep out the signal.

"Sometimes the radio was almost on without it being switched on. When my folks would go round to visit the neighbours - because it was one of those sorts of streets - Rory would get out the radio and dial up the station,” he said.

It was in Derry, said Dónal, thanks to the US naval presence that Rory first got into Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Fast forward twenty years and Rory could name Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters as admirers, and The Rolling Stones even tried to hire him.

He sold 30 million records and became a charismatic icon of Irish music, inspiring musicians such as The Edge and Slash.

Away from the stage, Rory was an intensely private man, with his brother Dónal his closest companion and manager.

Undoubtedly the man who knew him best, Dónal was by his elder sibling’s side through most of his career; from the guitarist’s showband days, to his time with blues trio Taste, and success as a solo artist.

Now nearly 30 years since Rory’s tragic passing, Dónal has striven tirelessly to keep his brother's legacy alive.

This special film will follow Dónal on a musical journey of discovery, as he has delved into his formidable archive to unearth unseen footage of Rory, in order to better understand what made this shy guitar hero so great.

It also features guest interviews with musical legends including Johnny Marr, Brian May and Bob Geldof.

The Rory Gallagher Story was made by Dearg Films and is a BBC Northern Ireland and RTÉ co-production. It airs Sunday 9 June, 10.30pm on BBC One Northern Ireland and is available on BBC iPlayer now.

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