Hughie Gallagher Tunebook

Provincial Treasurer and All-Britain Fleadh Vice-Chair Michael Fitzgerald reflects on the life of Hughie Gallagher. On the Saturday night of the All-Britain Fleadh, Michael launched the Hughie Gallagher Tunebook — a special project supported by ESP funding. The book features 29 original tunes by Coventry Comhaltas member Hughie Gallagher, celebrating his lasting musical legacy. It also includes a 30th tune, composed by Joe Gibson from Letterkenny, Donegal — Coventry’s sister branch — dedicated to Hughie’s memory. After the founding members of Coventry Comhaltas, Hughie Gallagher was one of

the greatest influences on the history and success of our branch.

Hughie hailed from Clonmany, Co. Donegal and later moved to Letterkenny. As a

young boy of about 9 or 10, he learned to play the one-row Melodeon and found his

love of music. He was a proud Donegal man, and whilst he made his home in

Coventry, his heart was always in Donegal.

When Hughie came to Coventry, he met Vincent Tighe in the mid 1970s who helped

Hughie to become proficient in the button accordion and it was then that he joined

Comhaltas. Although he would not have recognised it himself, Hughie went on to

become influential in the Irish music scene in the Midlands and further afield.

Hughie was proud to be a member of Comhaltas. He was well known and respected

within the organisation. Having joined the branch in the 1970s, Hughie went on to

serve as chairman of the branch for over 30 years. He was an outspoken advocate

for engaging young people, and he was passionate about keeping branches going.

Along with his friend, Seamus Gibson, Hughie forged our links with our sister Branch

in Letterkenny, a connection we’re proud to continue today. He also served as a

regional officer and was a source of encouragement and advice for the other

branches in the Midlands. He often said very little at regional meetings, but when he

chose to speak, it carried weight and people listened. Such was his impact within the

organisation, that he received a long service award in his later years and fittingly,

following his passing, Úachtarán of Comhaltas, Vincent Jordan, delivered a eulogy at

his funeral.

But really it was the music and the lifelong friendships that Hughie made through

Comhaltas that meant the most to him. Comhaltas was his second family.

Hughie was also known for nurturing and passing on his music. He was a highly

regarded adjudicator and teacher. He adjudicated countless regional and county

Fleadhanna, over 25 All Britain Fleadhanna, and over 20 All Ireland Fleadhanna.

This was a role he derived great enjoyment from because of the people he would

meet, the new tunes he would learn and the talent he would help in some way to

nurture. 

As a teacher and mentor, he passed on music to many musicians. He became a

teacher in the branch after only a couple of years learning from Vincent Tighe.

Hughie was particular about the musicians he took under his wing. He had a keen

eye for talent and would make time for those he knew had potential and a passion to

learn. As a child, I found him to be an intimidating figure! But the reality was different.

Looking back now, he had a great deal of patience as a teacher. Quite often very few

words were said during his lessons. He would communicate with his eyes and he

would teach by playing the tune over and over again with the aid of a slip of lined

paper with the ABCs on. Over the years, Hughie passed on the gift of music and had

an influence on the music of many musicians. 

Of course, he was a teacher of the button accordion, but there were many evenings

where Hughie would walk into the back room of the Hearsall Inn, where Coventry

branch meets, and he would hand out slips of lined paper with tunes written out on

and gather all of our branch learners and their teachers together, no matter their

instrument, to pass on a new tune to the whole branch.

His knowledge of traditional music was broad. He immersed himself entirely in the

music, and absorbed as much of it as he could. He had an understanding of the

nuances of regional styles and the styles of different players. That being said, he

certainly knew what he liked and he would often stick to his own style of playing and

his favourite tunes and composers.

Music and the ability to play and share it is a gift. Hughie passed on that gift to me that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and I could never thank him enough for

that.

Hughie was also a skilled repairer and restorer of accordions. In my personal (and

biased) opinion, his finest work was completely restoring a grey Paolo Soprani that

was (in his own words) in “rack and ruin” when he found it. A box I fell in love with

and have been playing now for over 10 years. Hughie’s words to me when he sold it

were “If you ever sell that box, you will only sell it back to me.”, a promise I intend to

keep!

But above all else, Hughie was a musician. His music was his life. He was a familiar

face at sessions all over the Midlands and at sessions on his regular visits back to

Donegal. With his steady pace and unique style, Hughie commanded any session he

sat in. He and I would often add variations into tunes to make each other smile, and I

find even to this day I will occasionally add something to a tune and without thinking

take a glance to where he was normally sat in our Coventry branch session. 

Not only was he a skilled and confident performer, but he was an accomplished

composer. Melodies would come to him and then were often named after a trip or a

place that meant something to him. In my opinion, the crowning jewels out of the 29

compositions I’ve been able to find are his only two hornpipes: The Old Town Fair

and Sentry Hill.

He was known all over the country and all over Ireland, and often just mentioning

you are from Coventry is enough to trigger the question “So you must have known

Hughie Gallagher?” His presence was always felt, and clearly never forgotten, in a session. It is this commitment and passion to the music that he will be most fondly

remembered for.

Hughie passed away on 20th October 2020, leaving a huge gap in our branch and in

the Irish music community. The Coventry branch, myself, and many other musicians

over the course of over forty years in Comhaltas owe a great debt to Hughie for the

work and passion he gave to Comhaltas and to music. 

Hughie would be proud to welcome you all to Coventry for this weekends’ All Britain

Fleadh and to see the continued success of Comhaltas. I can imagine that he would

make a point of sitting in on the Button Accordion competitions to work out which

emerging musicians he would make a beeline for at a session over the weekend in

order to give some advice to or to ask about the name of their Fleadh tune. But he

would most definitely be found this weekend gathering some musicians together and

dragging furniture from a classroom to a corner somewhere to start an impromptu

Session!

Thank you, Hughie, for the gift of music. Your legacy will be felt in Coventry for as

long as there is Irish music being played. To get a copy of the Hughie Gallagher Tunebook, please contact Coventry CCÉ.