Rare Irish Stuff

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21/05/2026

Doesn't get much better than this. Watch till the end. Rory Gallagher performing Bullfrog Blues in 1980

21/05/2026

Rory Gallagher purchased his famous 1961 Fender Stratocaster from Crowley’s Music Store in Cork in 1963 for £100 on hire purchase. He played it from his teenage days in Irish showbands right through to his international solo career. Until his death, it remained his favourite instrument.

The guitar is currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland.

Speaking about the guitar, Rory once said: “This is the best, it's my life, this is my best friend. It's almost like knowing its weak spots are strong spots. I don’t like to get sentimental about these things, but when you spend thirty years of your life with the same instrument, it's like a walking memory bank of your life there in your arms.”

The guitar was originally ordered through Crowley’s by Irish showband musician Jim Conlon, who wanted a cherry red Stratocaster like Buddy Holly. Fender mistakenly shipped a sunburst model instead, so it was eventually offered for sale at a reduced price and bought by Rory in 1963.

Speaking later about the purchase, Rory’s brother Dónal Gallagher said: “This Stratocaster was in the store as a used instrument, it was 100 pounds...in today's money you couldn't even compare you might as well say it was a million pounds...my mother was saying we'll be in debt for the rest of our lives and Rory said well actually with a guitar like this I can play both parts, rhythm and lead, we won't need a rhythm player so I can earn more money and pay it off so the Stratocaster became his partner for life if you like.”

The guitar is only on display at Collins Barracks for a few more months, so it’s well worth seeing in person while it’s there.

Clips taken from a 1973 RTÉ interview with Rory Gallagher.

07/05/2026

I was always fascinated by these traders as a kid. They had a spiel for everything they sold. Masters at their trade.

Clips from Dublin, A Personal View, filmed in 1983.

Then & Now: Patrick Street market (Rag Fair), 1903 & 2026In 1903, this stretch of Patrick Street was home to the famous ...
05/05/2026

Then & Now: Patrick Street market (Rag Fair), 1903 & 2026

In 1903, this stretch of Patrick Street was home to the famous Rag Fair, a busy open air market where second hand clothes and household goods were bought and sold, often laid out directly on the street. hundreds of traders worked here daily in the Liberties.

Behind the wooden hoarding at the back of the crowd, work is getting underway on what would become St Patricks Park, completed the following year in 1904 , funded by Edward Guinness.

A few years later, Edward Guinness funded the relocation of street traders working in and around St Patricks Cathedral into the Iveagh Market on Francis street, which opened in 1906, providing a sheltered space for traders.

📷 National Library of Ireland

02/05/2026

Early house pub, Cork City, 1980

Pubs opening at 7am. Early houses are an old tradition, providing a place for dockers and market traders to congregate for an early morning drink.

Journalist Pat Butler meets some of the early morning customers and asks the question, What are people doing in pubs drinking at that hour? The pubs are packed with people from all walks of life with the stout flowing. Some in for a quick drink before they start the day while others are in for a pick me up after finishing a night shift.

Clip from an episode of ‘Ireland’s Eye’, 1980. Courtesy of RTE Archives

Peter O’Toole outside Toner’s, Baggot Street, 1976.📸 Bryan Wharton
01/05/2026

Peter O’Toole outside Toner’s, Baggot Street, 1976.

📸 Bryan Wharton

Selling Shamrock, St Patrick's Day, 1916
17/03/2026

Selling Shamrock, St Patrick's Day, 1916

17/03/2026

All Set For Saint Patrick's Day, 1982

Sales of flags and shamrock on Moore Street market are brisk and in the Cat and Cage pub in Drumcondra customers are queuing up to experience the latest Saint Patrick’s Day novelty all the way from America - green beer. A large number of Americans with Irish ancestry choose to come to Ireland for Saint Patrick's Day. One American visitor explains why he is in Ireland.

An RTÉ News report broadcast,1982.

15/03/2026

Shane MacGowan and The Pogues with an impromptu pub session.
Singing one of Kirsty MacColl's dad's songs.
November 1986

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