€1 million For Rory Gallagher's Guitar . . . Or For Donal Gallagher's Lifestyle ?

They wouldn't want to fall fowl of the social media
You and the other 50-60 people who are interested? :D

If there was real interest the fundraising would have done way, way better. The fundraiser to buy a pint for the lad who intervened in the Parnell St. attack on children exceeded 100k in 7 hours and went on to more than €300k in a few days, the Rory guitar fundraiser is sitting on less than €75k after more than 3 months.
 
You and the other 50-60 people who are interested? :D

If there was real interest the fundraising would have done way, way better. The fundraiser to buy a pint for the lad who intervened in the Parnell St. attack on children exceeded 100k in 7 hours and went on to more than €300k in a few days, the Rory guitar fundraiser is sitting on less than €75k after more than 3 months.
I wonder if it is the original one or is it like Triggers ( only fools and horses) original sweeping brush ;)
 
Boylesports wouldn't take a bet from me on the Strat's hammer price.

I see there Monday evening how Ray Coyle extricated himself from his potato growing expansion debt by lottery-selling 365 acres of Meath land for more than the agricultural value of the whole 750 acre farm. Then set up a crisp business of his own with the surplus.

Old Denny O'Brien couldn't do a stunt like that with Digicel. (Mind you, he gave it a lash when he played China off Australia to get well more than Digicel Pacific was worth.) Folks in Haiti would love it.
 
Many minor lots exceeding their expected price at the auction.

See yourself at https://live.bonhams.com/live-auction/4-E4A3TV

£11,000 for this flight case. Must be the colour.
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The Coral e-sitar only went at £9,000.
That's a bad sign for the big lots ahead . . .

£65,000 only for the 1966 Telecaster rated at £120,000 - £150,000 :(
 
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Just had a quick look. One of his other guitars went for 9500 having had an estimate of 4000/5000
 
Wouldn't be surprised if it was bought by the Fender company. They had issued a replica "signature" Rory Gallagher model a few years back - complete with the worn paintwork. (I remember seeing one in that X Music place in Ballymount about ten years ago.)
 
The guitar has been purchased by Live Nation Gaiety Ltd with a view to donation to the National Museum of Ireland, under Section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997.

live nation gaiety owns the electric picnic and is partly owned by promoter Dennis Desmond, its a subsidiary of the UK live nation group
 
It will become clear soon how many other pieces were picked up by LNG/DD/Sheena/etc.

I suppose Donal G (or Strange Music) must have picked up about £1.25 m gross.

Questions will arise as to how this inheritance was originally treated for tax. Of course few in 1995 could have predicted a £700,000 windfall from a single item. And no one - barring possibly Donal G - could have envisioned £11,000 coming their way for a battered old flight case. It's unlikely that a reassessment might be considered for the initial values of the items as that would reduce the CGT, I suppose. I see in the lot listings that Donal himself acquired a good few of the collection at super-bargain prices, e.g. the Corvette and the Coral. So it was in a sense partly his collection as much as Rory's.

Of course, Donal & Cecilia G have been €5,000 a year patrons of the National Gallery of Ireland over the last couple of decades or more.

I wonder what the NGI business plan is for these items. Is this type of acquisition a means of getting more footfall into the whole gallery by those of us otherwise shunning crusty art ? Will it be housed in a new section of the NGI ? Will it be a moveable R&R feast that travels through various provincial galleries ?

But at least they are back where they belong :).
 

Great article in the independent about Gallagher. The point that donal Gallagher made that Rory was largely an obscure forgotten about figure by the time of his death in 1995 is very true. He said Gallagher music was out of fashion by the 80s and early 90s and that the punk era wouldn't have helped him as he was regarded as old school by the 80s along with other huge 70s rock acts. He said that everything has now turned full circle as a new younger generation have really latched onto him attracted by his virtuosity and integrity. Even though he was a bit forgotten about by 1995 he still had a huge reputation among big name artists
 
Difficult to see where this fits in any of the current NMI collections. Most of their Irish Culture pieces are in storage the majority of the time. Will they loan it to Cork Library or to temporary exhibits I wonder?
 
Hold on there, boy.

Quite a few great guitarists cut their teeth in showbands. There was no other gig available to them.
Quite true, from my home town the likes of Pearse Turner would have played in a showband (The Arrows) before he took a rather more innovative turn.
Cathal Coughlan (RIP) and Jacknife Lee acknowleged them well

 
Difficult to see where this fits in any of the current NMI collections. Most of their Irish Culture pieces are in storage the majority of the time. Will they loan it to Cork Library or to temporary exhibits I wonder?
Maybe into the revamped Crawford now that they have some links with MTU school of Art and Music?
 
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