Dundalk said goodbye to one of its most famous musicians and entertainers last week when Gerry Foran was laid to rest on Friday. Gerry played with a number of bands down through the years, most notably with legendary showband Paragon 7 who achieved great success during the 1960’s having began his music career as singer with the Woodpeckers during the late 50’s.
Patsy Rogers knew more than most how talented Gerry was having toured with him with popular band the ‘Looney Tunes’ over 40 years ago. Singer Gerry Foran, guitarist Tommy Kelly and drummer Patsy Rogers were one of the most successful local bands during the showband era and having been invited by Knockbridge man Tommy Smyth to tour North America for a six week run. According to Patsy, Gerry was magnificent company during those days on the road.
“Gerry was a brilliant musician and brilliant company. The laughs we had on the road are memories that will stay with me forever. He had a huge impact on music locally and I would say that probably about 50% of guitarists around town were taught how to play by Gerry at some point. He was a great man for the chat and as we used to say he could sell sand to the Arabs!
“That six-week tour of America was so enjoyable. We were three young men who didn’t have a care in the world and we were loving life in New York City. One day I remember we were walking down the main street with our shirts off because it was so hot and we were stopped by a cop who threatened to give us a citation if we didn’t put our tops back on. Before we did we asked him if he would take a picture of us before we put the shirts back on and he duly obliged (see picture). Tommy Smyth who is now a big deal in America commentating and analysing soccer games for ESPN brought us over to the US for that tour and it was a huge success.
“Gerry had so much success over the years and as well as the music he enjoyed writing poetry and books. I visited him regularly up in Dealgan House over the last few years and we would reminisce about the great days back when we were playing. He was a great man and I will miss him dearly,” stated Patsy.
