May 30 2010
Dictionary of Irish Biography: Gallagher and Lynott
Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott are two of the musicians included in the pages of the newly released Dictionary of Irish Biography. Published last November, the 9-volume Dictionary is edited by James McGuire and James Quinn, and contains 9,700 biographies of Irish men and women who made their mark on the world. It is the largest work ever written about the lives of the Irish people. A joint project of the Royal Irish Academy and Cambridge University Press, the dictionary took a total of 12 years to compile and spans over 2,000 years of Irish history. To include Rory Gallagher amongst the important personages of the past two milleniums seems a no brainer if Irish historians consider the realm of music important to the Irish legacy. Clearly Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott are two of the greatest Irish exports in that field; particularly Rory, who blazed the trail in Irish Rock that all others followed. However, this was exactly the discussion on Newstalk 106-108 fm radio several weeks ago.
On the Sunday, May 9, 2010 broadcast of Talk History, Patrick Geoghegan and a panel of experts in musical and social history discussed the lives and careers of two of Ireland’s most famous rock musicians, Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott, and whether their recent inclusion in the Dictionary of Irish Biography was deserved. Joining Patrick was Professor James Quinn, co-editor of the Dictionary of Irish Biography and author of the Phil Lynott entry in the biography, Colm O’Hare, journalist for Hot Press Magazine, and MarK McAvoy, Cork journalist and recent author of Cork Rock — from Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping. (McAvoy’s book has been previously mentioned on this blog HERE.) You can listen to the podcast of the Rory Gallagher & Phil Lynott Talk History show here: Talk History, Rory Gallagher & Phil Lynott. While all agreed on the show that both musicians belonged in the distinguished volumes, one wonders why there could have been any doubt. So head out to your local library and check out “Volume 4, G to J” of the Dictionary of Irish Biography where Rory Gallagher is given his due. Don’t forget to bookmark Rory’s entry for future readers of the tome!
Didn’t they jam together at Leopardstown festival in the 80s? That would have been some gig!
They did at the Punchestown Festival in ’82