Conor "Dock" Dockery is the guitarist of acclaimed Irish band The Scratch. They released their debut album, Couldn't Give A Rats, earlier this year.

My earliest memories of hearing music were through my parents. My Dad always loved live music and had such a baller collection of live concerts on VHS: Dire Straits: On The Night; The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over; and Rory Gallagher: Live at Rockpalast.

I was drawn to Rory initially because he was Irish. It blew my mind that an Irish guitarist was spoken about in the same conversations as Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page as the greatest of all time. It actually wasn’t his electric guitar playing that struck me first - it was his acoustic. What a beautiful, gritty and soulful player. Maybe that acoustic influence is coming full circle in The Scratch’s music after all these years!

In many ways, he paved the way for every Irish guitarist to come, and instilled the belief that you can be the best in the world.

The special Rory Gallagher 25th Anniversary Issue of Hot Press is available to order below – featuring reflections on Rory's legacy from President Michael D. Higgins, Imelda May, Johnny Marr, Mumford & Sons, Mick Fleetwood, Steve Van Zandt, Slash and many more.