‘A Chink of Light’: Rory Gallagher, Youth Fandom and Musical Refuge in Early 1970s Belfast

Abstract

While scholarship has emphasised Belfast’s punk scene as a key site of cross-community interaction during the Troubles, the concerts of Irish blues-rock musician Rory Gallagher also drew diverse audiences and created important moments of shared cultural identity and emotional solidarity across sectarian divides. Drawing on press coverage, fan testimony and archival materials, this paper demonstrates how Gallagher’s concerts offered a rare ‘chink of light’ for young people seeking connection, hope and cultural refuge amid conflict. Using de Certeau’s concept of ‘tactics’ and Williams’ notion of ‘structures of feeling’, the study interprets Gallagher’s performances and fans’ acts of creative refuge (e.g. scrapbooking) as embodied practices that tactically resisted dominant Troubles narratives and created alternative identities and shared affective experiences beyond political binaries. By foregrounding these underexplored facets of cross-community engagement in conflict-era Belfast, the paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of youth experience during the Troubles beyond tropes of victimhood or delinquency, recovers Gallagher’s often forgotten role in peacebuilding and argues for the preservation of music memories as a vital component of Northern Ireland’s cultural heritage.