Derek Nally:DEREK NALLY, who has died aged 59, was a music promoter, booker and manager. A highly respected and popular figure in the music industry, he enjoyed the absolute trust of the musicians with whom he worked.
Among the artists he represented were the band Ham Sandwich, from Kells, and the Tyrone-born singer-songwriter Juliet Turner. On her website, Turner said: “It was thanks to his support and belief in my belief as a songwriter that Burn the Black Suit ever saw the light of day. He was a generous, enthusiastic, intelligent and hard-working man respected by those he worked with, and he will be greatly missed.”
"Derek was one of the good guys," Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press, said. "Music was his passion and he gave his life to it."
Stokes recalled that Nally had discovered Punchestown as a venue, when in 1982 they collaborated in promoting the first rock festival to take place at the Kildare race track, which now hosts Oxegen.
However, the event, while musically a success, was overshadowed by the Rolling Stones concert at Slane Castle held within a week of the Punchestown event.
Nally was a genuine music enthusiast with a particular interest in early rock’n’roll, country music and soul. Guy Clark, Tony Joe White and Townes Van Zandt were among his favourite artists, and he was proud to have promoted their concerts in Ireland.
The gigs he promoted this year included Betty LaVette, Booker T and Allen Toussaint. Most recently, he organised concerts by Tom Paxton and Arlo Guthrie at the National Concert Hall.
Nally was born in 1951, the son of Matthew and Maura Nally, of Warrenstown, Co Meath.
From a farming background, he was educated at Trim CBS, and first became involved in the music business as a DJ in the early 1970s at the Television Club in Dublin.
He later became a promoter, and in the 1980s and 1990s he presented many memorable gigs at Whelan’s of Wexford Street. At the turn of the century he was appointed booking agent for Whelan’s, and later for the nearby venue The Village.
For a time he owned a licensed premises in Drogheda and he had an interest in a bar in Barcelona.
A strong supporter of local talent, he was central to the success of Ham Sandwich and Turner.
A loving husband and father, he will be remembered as a gentleman, always ready to help and advise young musicians and other entrants to the music business.
His wife Dairín, daughters Rachel and Sara and son John survive him.
Derek Nally: born June 7th, 1951; died July 15th, 2010