A PETITION TO rename Cork International Airport after local music legend Rory Gallagher has gained more than 8,000 signatures.
The petition appeals to the Dublin Airport Authority and Cork City Council to honour Gallagher, who passed away in 1995, by named the facility after the renowned guitarist – calling him “Ireland’s first true international rock and roll star”.
The petition, which had 8,407 signatures at the time of writing, lauds not only “his supreme musicianship and talent as an entertainer but also… his integrity as an artist and overwhelming humility as a person”, and says honouring his contribution to the arts was “long overdue”.
Gallagher, born in Donegal and raised in Cork, was an multi-instrumentalist blues-rock musician and songwriter who inspired countless musicians in Ireland and across he world. During a career spanning 30 years, Gallagher played both as a solo artist and with his band Taste, and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
He is still mourned by music-lovers worldwide – and no more so than in Cork, where grew up and where he bought his trademark Fender Stratocaster.
Gallagher died unexpectedly in 1995, following complications from a liver transplant.
The petition reads:
He is still regularly honoured as a favourite son with tributes in the city, but there is now a case for a more permanent monument.We feel that there would be no better way to keep his name and spirit alive across the world than by petitioning the relevant authorities to rename the existing Cork International Airport to Cork Rory Gallagher Airport.
Airports bring people together. Rory’s talent and humility still does.
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