Dublin city councillor supports Rory Gallagher memorial

A Dublin city councillor has described the blocking of a memorial to Rory Gallagher in Temple Bar as "a disgrace".

Talking today, Fianna Fail's Gary Keegan added that: "Rory is and was a national treasure and this is a slight on his name. Rory bridges the generation gap in music, still gaining new fans 35 years after his first album."

As a board member of Temple Bar Properties, Keegan says: "I am determined to ensure that permission is granted for the bronze guitar-shaped memorial. Rory is an Irish cultural icon who had and has a huge fan base in Europe and throughout the world. Everybody apart from the National Photographic Library who are renting the building in question from Temple Bar Properties are very much in favour of this tribute."

The bronze of Rory's trademark Stratocaster is being sponsored by the Music Maker equipment shop and Fender in conjunction with their 50th birthday celebrations.