Strumming up support

The daughter of the man who sold Rory Gallagher his iconic 61 Fender Stratocaster is hoping to raise enough funds to buy the guitar when it goes to auction in October.

Sheena Crowley, daughter of the late Mick Crowley of Crowley’s Music Store, yesterday launched a GoFundMe page to ‘Help Bring Rory Gallagher's Strat Back to his Home Town’ with an initial target of €1 million.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Ms Crowley, whose father sold the guitar to Rory over 60 years ago, said she doesn’t want the guitar to leave Cork.

“I'm just really impassioned about the fact that it should stay in Cork,” she said.

“There's a woman named Bibi Lehmann who dedicated her life to it, and she was campaigning to have the airport called Rory Gallagher Airport. She would be turning in her grave to think that this is even happening,” added Ms Crowley.

It was announced on Tuesday that almost 30 years after his passing, Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster will be sold along with the rest of his instrument collection. The collection will come to auction at Bonhams on 17 October in New Bond Street, London.

Ms Crowley said her initial reaction to the news was shock, but that she could understand the pressure felt by Rory’s brother and former manager Dónal in keeping his brother’s gear for so long.

She said: “I felt a kind of empathy or a massive sense that it must be an awful relief for Dónal Gallagher. If you think about it, for 30 years, holding this most famous guitar in a secure place, insurance, with all of that responsibility to keep it in the right way.”

Although the GoFundMe page has a target of €1million, Ms Crowley said she feels the guitar will sell for a lot more than that in the end.

“The thing is, even if we raise that money, imagine you win it, right, will I keep it in the shop? You'd have to have a place for it and I'm waiting on a response from Micheál Martin about that,” said Ms Crowley.

In 2012, when the original Crowley’s Music Store was still open on McCurtain Street, initial plans were drawn to convert the shop’s basement into a museum partially dedicated to Rory Gallagher. Although Rory’s brother was onboard with the plan, permission was denied by the planning board at Cork City Council. Crowley’s Music Store closed its doors on McCurtain Street in 2013.

Ms Crowley said she still hopes to set up a music museum incorporating traditional and modern music, showcasing the musical talent and heritage of Cork.