LAST UPDATE | 3 hrs ago

BIDDING IS UNDERWAY for a number of guitars, amps and musical accessories of legendary blues guitarist Rory Gallagher.

Gallagher was born in Donegal but raised in Cork and was a multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter who inspired countless musicians in Ireland and across the world.

During a career spanning 30 years, he 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 he purchased on credit his trademark Fender Stratocaster for £100 in Crowley’s Music Store in Cork in 1963.

Gallagher died unexpectedly in 1995 following complications from a liver transplant.

While people can bid online for most items in the collection, this is not allowed in the case of the famous Fender Stratocaster.

Rory Gallagher's famous 1961 Fender Stratocaster which is up for auction Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The guitar was stolen in 1966 but after Gallagher appealed to local TV show ‘Garda Patrol’ for help, it was discovered a few days later in a ditch.

Once reunited with his guitar, it rarely left Gallagher’s side and became his “lucky charm”.

“It’s kind of a lucky charm; the guitar is a part of me,” Gallagher told The Guitar Magazine in 1998.

It’s estimated that the Fender Stratocaster could fetch as much as €1.2 million and as a result, online bidding is not available.

The guitar has seen many modifications over the years.

“It’s a 1961 model,” Gallagher recalled in 1990.

“It was £100, which was an absolute fortune at the time.

“It was in good condition then, but it’s got so battered now it’s got a kind of tattoo quality about it. But it’s all psychological. I just like the sound of it.”

Over the summer, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he would explore ways in which the State might purchase the famous guitar before it went to auction.

“I would love if we could – obviously, I will talk to Arts and Culture Minister Catherine Martin and see what’s possible but it would be lovely if we could get that guitar back on Leeside,” Martin told the Irish Times in July.

Other electric and acoustic guitars are also up for sale in the auction, as well as mandolins, harmonicas, saxophones.

Musical equipment such as amps, guitar pedals and effects units, and flight cases are also up for grabs.

Dónal Gallagher, Rory’s brother and former manager, said “it’s time for other people to cherish Rory’s ‘orphaned’ 1961 Fender Stratocaster and the rest of his incredible instrument collection”.

“So, in what is one of the most difficult and sensitive decisions to reach, I have decided to release of his instruments for sale, so that these emblems of his legacy can be enjoyed by others,” added Dónal.

Money raised from the auction will go towards mental health charity Mind, as well as The Music Venue Trust, a charity which acts to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues.