Rory Gallagher and the town he loved so well

As Cork marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Rory Gallagher, Des O'Driscoll looks back on his early years on Leeside and in Derry

YOU might have heard the story about the woman down the Arcadia ballroom. There she was, dancing away with a fine-looking fellah. Great dancer he was too. Next thing, she looks down and sees he has cloven feet.

While we haven’t been able to establish the veracity of whether Satan actually danced in Cork in the late 1950s, this was a commonly-told tale of the era. It’s one that underlines the changing society a young Rory Gallagher experienced growing up in the city.