Culture That Made Me: Clare-born composer Gerald Barry picks his touchstones

Barry includes Maria Callas, the Shandon Bells, and Moby Dick among his selections 

Gerald Barry's Salome is being staged at the National Concert Hall as part of New Music Dublin Festival. Picture: Frances Marshall

Gerald Barry, 73, grew up in Clarecastle, Co Clare. Since his first opera in 1990, The Intelligence Park, his operas have been performed in the world’s most illustrious opera houses, including London’s Covent Garden and New York’s Lincoln Center. In 2013, his opera The Importance of Being Earnest was awarded a composition prize by the Royal Philharmonic Society. His Salome opera with the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland is at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Friday, April 17. 

Maria Callas