Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Dan Boyle says he is hopeful the Irish State can intervene to secure Rory Gallagher’s famous Fender Stratocaster guitar which is due to go for auction in London later this year.
Gallagher’s Sunburst Fender is being put up for auction by Gallagher’s estate and is due to go under the hammer at London auctioneers, Bonhams in October when it is expected to fetch between £700,000 and £1,000,000.
Cllr Boyle said that sort of a price tag would be beyond the budget of Cork City Council, but he has already been in contact through political channels with the Government in the hope that either a Government Department or a national institution might assist to secure the instrument.
“Rory Gallagher’s guitar is a very distinctive and is probably one of the most recognisable guitars in rock history because of the fact that the varnish wore off because apparently Rory’s sweat was very acidic, and it just stripped off the varnish over time.
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“But Rory was one of the first to put Irish rock on the international stage so it’s an important item culturally and I think it’s important that it should be kept in the State so that’s why I’ve made contact with Government departments and state agencies ...
“I suggested they look at approaching the Gallagher estate and I’m hope some progress might be made that way – certainly the response was very positive in that there was recognition of the guitar’s cultural importance,” said Mr Boyle, a Green Party councillor who once played bass with Cork band Blue Print.
Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon in Co Donegal in 1948 but grew up in Cork where he formed Taste with whom he achieved international fame before striking as a solo artist which saw him sell over 30 million records before his death in 1995 at the age of 47.
Mr Boyle said that in the event of the state not providing funding through either the Department of Arts and Culture or through a cultural institution such as the National Museum of Ireland, there was also the hope that a private purchaser might buy the guitar and donate it to the State.
He pointed out that there were generous tax incentives open to anyone so philanthropically inclined with Irish tax laws allowing a private purchaser to redeem 80 per cent of the value as a tax credit if they donated the guitar to a public institution.
“The danger is that Rory had such an international following that many of those who are likely to compete with any State bid for the guitar are likely to live outside Ireland, but I would hope that a proper approach to the Gallagher estate through official channels might secure the guitar.”
Gallagher’s brother, Donal told Guitar World that the decision to sell his brother’s Stratocaster, which he bought in Crowley’s Music Store in Cork in 1963, was among the most difficult decisions he has had to make but he believed it was time to let others cherish the instrument.
“Since 1995, I have always felt that there was a mission to be fulfilled to cement Rory’s legacy and widen the knowledge of his music so, in what is one of the most difficult and sensitive decisions to reach, I have decided to facilitate the release of his instruments for sale, so that these emblems of his legacy can be enjoyed by others.”
Claire Tole-Moir, Head of Bonhams’ Popular Culture Department told Guitar World that Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster was one of the world’s most recognisable guitars and Bonhams were honoured to be entrusted with bringing the instrument to auction.
“It was an enormous part of Rory Gallagher’s life and was with him from the very start of his career right until the end. It could be said that it was on this guitar that he carved out his legacy of being one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”
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