Cork City Hall, Anglesea Street

The City Hall was the last buildings in the city to be reconstructed following the burning of Cork city centre by Crown forces in Dec 1920.

The Cork building firm Sisk & Co built the new City Hall and Cork stone was to be used for the majority of the project. The foundation stone was laid in 1932 and on 23 April 1935 the first meeting in the new building of the Cork Corporation, which had been reinstituted in 1929, took place.

The fully completed City Hall was officially opened by Éamon de Valera in 1936. Cork City Hall is synonymous with the making of Rory Gallagher's name as a live performer. This is evident in being the location in part of his most memorable recorded live performance, the album Irish Tour 74.

Rory’s first encounters to this part of the city would have been to attend across the street from the City Hall, the District Model School for a brief time, now the Cork District Court. He first began performing at Cork City Hall as a youngster winning a talent contest sponsored by the Evening Echo in conjunction with the Ideal Homes Exhibition.

"I remember going to City Hall to see my brother perform there. It was being held in the balcony area of City Hall, which was screened off with large theatrical drapes from the main downstairs (which was being used by the exhibitors) and the space had its own stage constructed. From memory, Rory performed Lonnie Donegan’s Rock Island Line and maybe Grand Coulee Dam by Woody Guthrie. In his summation, compere Croft referred to Rory’s ‘fire, energy and passion’ in the delivery of the songs." - Donal Gallagher

Rory Gallagher from this point forward would go on to play over 20 times throughout his career at Cork City Hall, possibly more than any other music Artist.

Every iteration of his early ensembles played on the City Hall stage from the Fontana Showband, Impact through to Taste.

By the 1970s as a solo act, Rory’s tour schedule would gravitate towards the Christmas and early January period when he would play his Ireland dates allowing also time home to see Family briefly during the holiday period.

It was the shows on the 3rd and 4th of January 1974 at the City Hall that coincided with the filming for a documentary by Tony Palmer, where these concerts came as the guitarist’s profile was centre stage following the Blueprint and Tattoo albums. The atmosphere and outlet of joy and expression by the audiences from those nights at the Cork City Hall was electric:

“The City Hall had always proved to be a great but technically difficult venue, a sprung floor for dances (we would have to physically suppress the sound desk and PA stacks from bouncing), a cavernous acoustic and a high stage but Rory and the band made it feel like a club gig!” - Donal Gallagher

Watch Rory Gallagher performing Cradle Rock at the Cork City Hall in 1974

Listen to the full Irish Tour ‘74 album