In this digital media age, Rory’s reputation seems to go from strength to strength, with increasing numbers of young people discovering his music through such platforms as Spotify, YouTube and Instagram. As his profile grows, there are all sorts of new accolades that demonstrate just how timeless and powerful his music is. 2022 has been a particularly strong year for Rory, with awards, murals, magazine covers, fresh releases  and so much more. So, I wanted to end the year by using this special Christmas post to mark all Rory’s achievements throughout 2022. I hope you enjoy it. And here’s to even more Rory accomplishments in 2023!      

January 2022, Folk That Rock (Ceol Roc Ceilteach) 
The year began with BBC Alba broadcastingd the documentary Folk That Rock (Ceol Roc Ceilteach) , where rock musician Iain Spanish MacKay embarked on a journey to meet some of the musicians behind his favourite records. As part of his journey, he met Dónal who talked about the Celtic roots of Rory’s music.

March 2022 Hot Press collaborations
Even today, Rory remains closely tied with Hot Press, which he helped establish in the late 1970s. On Rory’s birthday, Hot Press announced a new performance series, where each track from Rory’s debut album would be covered by a different Irish artist or band over the next fortnight. This followed on from a Hot Press competition last September, where Kevin Herron from indie rock trio Rowan was presented with a Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster from Fender’s Custom Art Series at the Rory Gallagher Music Library. Both Dónal and Eoin were in attendance at the ceremony.

March 2022 Gimme Shelter Film Festival, Athens
On March 14th, the first Panhellenic screening of the documentary Ghost Blues: The Story of Rory Gallagher occurred at the Gimme Shelter Film Festival’s Pop-Up Mondays event in Athens. The evening’s itinerary included (for the first time in front of a Greek audience) a performance from the tribute band Deuce, as well as a Q&A session with Daniel Gallagher. 

April 2022 Planet Rock Radio Awards
In April 2022, the estate’s release of the Rory Gallagher (50th Anniversary Edition) box set was nominated on Planet Rock Radio’s list for ‘The Blues Power Award’, alongside albums such as Billy Gibbons’ Hardware and the re-release of Electric Mud by Muddy Waters. Unfortunately, the album lost out to Saving Grace by When Rivers Meet, which took the first place, followed by Joe Bonamassa’s Time Clocks in second and Beth Hart’s A Tribute to Led Zeppelin in third.

April 2022 Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a music event inaugurated in 2007 and held every April in Europe (and every Black Friday in the US) to “celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store.” For this day, a number of limited edited records are pressed and only distributed to independent shops participating in the event. The Rory Gallagher estate has participated in this event since 2013, releasing five records to date: Continental Op (2013), The French Connection (2018), Cleveland Calling (2020), Cleveland Calling Part 2 (2021) and Live in San Diego ’74 (2022). The 2022 release was a 7-song live set performed by Rory and his band at the San Diego Sports Arena on 8th February 1974.

April 2022 Tales from Dún Draíochta Cartoon
Tales from Dún Draíochta is an Irish-language children’s cartoon on RTÉ2, which retells classic Irish folklore stories for a modern audience. In each episode, a character from the town encounters a mythical being and is taken on a wild and hilarious adventure that ends up with a problem solved and a lesson learned. In April’s episode, a teenage busker named Jack Gallagher met up with a shape shifting trickster known as Puca. Episode creators Ciarán Morrison & Mick O’Hara are big Rory fans and decided to make a subtle nod to him by giving Jack a battered Fender Stratocaster that looks very much like Rory’s own!

September 2022 Deuce 50th Anniversary Edition
Following on from the re-release of Rory Gallagher in 2021 to mark the album’s 50th anniversary, Rory’s second solo album Deuce was  also reissued in a special boxset edition in September 2022. The full boxset includes a new mix of the original album, 28 previously unreleased alternate takes, a six-song 1972 BBC Radio ‘In Concert’ and seven Radio Bremen radio session tracks, as well as a 64-page hardback book with a foreword by Johnny Marr of The Smiths, unseen images by the late Mick Rock, essays and memorabilia from the album recording. Shorter  2CD and 3LP cut-down versions are also available, in addition to a special green 1LP of the BBC Radio ‘In Concert’. To dovetail the release, the estate also commissioned an official music video for ‘Crest of a Wave – Alt. Take 2’. The video was made in partnership with Irish filmmaker Fionn Rogers and features over 28 professional and amateur Irish surfing enthusiasts. The album was also promoted by a special performance of songs from Deuce by Irish blues guitarist Dom Martin on the official Rory Facebook page and YouTube channel.

December 2022 Commemorative Euro Bank Note
Shortly before publishing this article, I heard the news that Euro Note Souvenir will pay tribute to Rory (and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott) with a commemorative zero Euro bank note. Printed by Euro Note Souvenir and approved by the European Central Bank, the note will be limited to just 5,000 copies. The company has previously honoured other important Irish figures (e.g. Michael Collins, St Patrick) and landmarks (e.g. Cliffs of Moher, Foynes Flying Boat). In a press release, Euro Note Souvenir founder Peter Schneider said that both Rory and Phil “charmed the world with a musical style that was steeped in their Irish upbringing,” inspiring “countless musicians with their passion and skill.” For this reason, “they truly deserved to be remembered as Irish Rock Legends.”

Ongoing: Murals
Murals have always been a popular way to express political, religious, social and cultural allegiances across the island of Ireland, so it is surprising that, to date, Rory has featured in so few of them. Indeed, one of the best tributes to him on the side of famous rock bar Ziggy’s in Cork was shockingly painted over earlier this year, following the venue’s takeover by a new owner. Thankfully, however, a number of other murals in Rory’s honour have sprung up across the country, which make up for this oversight. In August 2022, a Rory mural was unveiled at the Cloyne GAA grounds. Sea Church, a popular restaurant and music venue in Ballycotton, commissioned the mural, which was completed by local artist Jack Hickey. The mural features Rory with his 1932 National Resonator. In September 2022, work was completed on a mural in Macroom by local artists Cormac and Dennis to mark Rory’s first performance at the Macroom Mountain Dew Festival in 1977. The mural shows a replica newspaper page from the Examiner, featuring Rory in the iconic cowboy hat that he wore for the occasion. Also in September, another Rory mural was unveiled in his birthplace of Ballyshannon. The mural by artist Nik Purdy was funded by the town’s Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival and depicts Rory in black and white looking down at his beloved Stratocaster. Rather fittingly, the mural is located at the top of the street where Rory first lived with his parents Danny and Monica.

Ongoing: Rory Statue in Belfast
As mentioned in the ‘Celebration of Mr. Blues’ post, a statue of Rory in Belfast has been in the works since 2016. In August 2022, the Barry McGivern Band (Ireland’s longest running Rory tribute band) put on a concert at Sea Church in Ballycotton to raise money for the statue. 

Ongoing: Rory’s Music in TV Shows
In August 2022, Taste’s cover of ‘Movin’ On’ by Hank Snow was featured on the soundtrack to TV series Irma Vep. When interviewed by the Cork Examiner, Dónal said that he was delighted that the song was used, especially because of its special meaning to him and Rory; their uncle Jimmy used to sing it at family gatherings and Rory originally included it on Taste as a nod to him.

Ongoing: Magazine Features and Front Covers
In October 2021, Rory featured on the front cover of Blues in Britain magazine. The article inside covered the making of Rory’s debut solo album Rory Gallagher and included short interviews with Gerry McAvoy and Daniel Gallagher, as well as a review of the newly released 50th anniversary boxset. Rory also made the front cover of the July 2022 edition of Guitar Techniques. The magazine contained a 10-page spread packed with tips on how to play like Rory delving into his blues, acoustic, rock, slide and Celtic sides.

In March 2022, Far Out magazine put together an article celebrating the many locations around Ireland that honoured Rory. Journalist Eoghan Lyng ranked the five spots in “order of greatness,” some of which include: Rory’s gravesite at St. Oliver’s Cemetery (no. 5), North Monastery School (4.), Rory Gallagher Corner at Temple Bar (no.3), Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney (no.2), and finally the Rory Gallagher statue in Ballyshannon. 

As part of the Celtic edition in rock magazine Rock At Night in April 2022, a section of a long-lost interview by José Oliveria with Rory from 1981 was featured in the edition. A portion of an interview with Phil Lynott and Oliveria was included alongside Rory’s, as well as an overview of the current music scene in Ireland and profiles of Irish groups. 

In July 2022, Hot Press celebrated forty-five years of publication, issuing an anniversary edition in honour of this achievement. In the magazine, Rory and Dónal Gallagher were thanked for their financial contributions towards the launch of Hot Press in 1977, as well as a flashback to the first issue, which featured Rory on the cover. In addition, Hot Press celebrated forty-five years by selecting forty-five singles that represented each year the magazine has been running, beginning with the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen” in 1977, to the present day (“Rumours” by Lizzo ft. Cardi B).  

Ongoing: Festivals
The annual Rory Gallagher Festival took place in Ballyshannon in June 2022. It featured headlining performances by Band of Friends, Eric Gales Band and Bernie Marsden, and attracted thousands of Rory fans from across the world. Across September 30 and October 1, the Irish pub O’Deas in Bergamo, Italy held the annual ‘Italian Rory Nights’. For this year’s two-day festival, the revised edition of Il bluesman bianco con la camicia a quadri (‘The white bluesman in the plaid shirt’) by Italian author Fabio Rossi was featured, as well as anecdotes and memories of Rory’s visits to Italy throughout his career. In addition to performances by tribute bands, Rory memorabilia and instruments were exhibited on the night. The annual Rory Gallagher tribute festival in Japan was held on October 29, 2022. This is the 8th Japan Tribute Festival to be held by the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival Executive Committee. The night included performances by acts such as Angillous and Johnny Takashi Suzuki and Yasuyuki Katsuma at Tokyo’s the Crawdaddy Club. 

On a final note, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all readers for their continued support across these thirteen months of Rewriting Rory. I never anticipated such a high volume of encouragement from everyone, and I look forward to putting together more blog posts in the future. As Daniel Gallagher mentioned in an article a few months ago, the New Year is already looking very exciting with the release of Rory’s 1990 live set at the Town and Country Club. As we enter 2023, I hope to continue to strengthen the foundations of Rory’s legacy by bringing awareness to his later years.