It speaks volumes of the talent of, and the continuing affection for Ballyshannon native Rory Gallagher, Ireland’s premier blues guitarist, who has just been crowned Donegal “All Time Great” in an opinion poll run by the Donegal Democrat.
In the online poll hosted by the newspaper since January, Gallagher, who died in 1995 consistently topped each round of voting beating renowned Donegal musicians Moya Brennan, Daniel O’Donnell, Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh and Enya to claim the title.
In one of his most famous songs, ‘Follow Me’ Gallagher sang:
I want to plant a star on the sky. One you can find at the end of the night. I want to climb a ladder to space and leave without trace.
It’s good to know that some twenty four years after his death the star he planted is still shining bright and he didn’t leave without a trace.
At Folk and Tumble we like a bit of Rory and to celebrate we’ve put together a playlist containing some of our favourite acoustic tunes and live performances.