Ballyshannon prepares for 21st Rory Gallagher International Festival

Thousands of blues rock music fans will descend on Ballyshannon over the June bank holiday weekend to enjoy the 21st Rory Gallagher International Festival. 

The festival, which has drawn over 7,000 attendees in the past, will celebrate the legacy of the legendary Rory Gallagher on the 30th anniversary of his untimely passing in 1995. 

The festival, which will take place from May 29 to June 1, will see 30 acts perform on 15 stages over four days. 

Founded in 2002 by Barry O’Neill, he has continued to promote the event since then. The festival in Gallagher’s birth town has very much become a staple on the circuit for a lot of top-class music acts. 

Musicians taking part include the Rory Gallagher All-Star Band and the Grammy Award-winning Jimmie Vaughan.  Band of Friends and The Zac Schulze Gang return to Ballyshannon, as will the ever-popular local man, Johnny Gallagher. 

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Ballybofey’s Muireann Bradley opens the festival with a concert at the Rory Gallagher Theatre. Bradley had previously risen to fame after appearing on Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny in December 2023, with her album I Kept These Old Blues reaching the top ten of the UK Albums Download Chart. 

Organisers said that the streets of Ballyshannon would “come alive to the strains of guitars being eloquently played by superb musicians from everywhere.

“The Festival Street gigs are pretty special in an enjoyable, relaxed atmosphere with many at the town’s celebrated Rory Gallagher sites such as at the Rory Gallagher life sized statue, at Rory Gallagher Place (on the street where a young Rory resided), at the Rock Hospital (where Rory was born), at the Rory Gallagher Threatre, at Allingham Park, at the Rory Gallagher Mural and at The Gables in the town centre that resembles a natural amphitheatre.

“This will be a real celebration of Rory’s music for Rory’s loyal fan base, home and abroad.”