The great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher was born on 2 March, 1948. It would have been his 70th birthday, and a series of events had been planned to take place in Cork, starting from March 1, to mark the occasion.

The first event scheduled was a lunchtime concert by the classical guitarist Jacques Stotzem, playing thrilling versions of Rory’s tunes, in the eponymously named Rory Gallagher Theatre, in CIT – where the Cork School of Music is based. A plaque in Rory’s honour was also to be unveiled.

However, CIT has been closed, as a result of the freezing conditions and snow, which have disrupted activities across the country so hugely – and will continue to do so for the next few days. Stotzem has released a tribute CD, on which he plays only Rory compositions.

A concert had been scheduled for Cork City Library tomorrow evening, at which Jacques Stotzem was also scheduled to play, alongside a talk by Sunday Times culture writer Garth Cartwright about Rory Gallagher’s vinyl catalogue. This also has been postponed.#

We will continue to keep punters updated with any changes related to this event.

Rory Gallagher's entire solo catalogue is set for re-release by Universal Music on March 16th.