THE MUCH-LOVED singer and songwriter, Christie Hennessy, who was described as a “gentle and beautiful man”, was honoured in his native Tralee, Co Kerry, on Saturday.
More than 800 people attended the emotional unveiling of a life-size, bronze sculpture of a man who started life as a messenger boy in his home town, after leaving school at the age of 11, and later emigrated to London and became a star.
Following his death two years ago at the age of 62, Tralee Town Council decided to erect a memorial to him and the commission was awarded to English sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby.
The €80,000 memorial was unveiled by his widow, Gill Hennessy, and fellow folk singer and friend, Christy Moore, in the town square.
Ms Hennessy said the depth of kindness in her husband’s nature endeared him to all who met him. He had a magical way of projecting happiness from the stage to the audience.
“As a shy, unassuming person, he was not at all convinced of his own creative and musical gifts. He tried his best with the situation that life dealt him and he always smiled, even through the hardest times,” she said.
“He would never have believed today’s event was possible. It would be difficult for him to comprehend the high regard held for him by the people of Tralee.”
Christy Moore, recalling the first time he met Hennessy, in 1969, said he knew straight away they were kindred spirits.
He went on to record a number of Hennessy’s songs, including Don’t Forget Your Shovel.
“Christie was always extremely generous with his songs and was the kindest, warmest, most beautiful man I ever encountered,” he said.
Born Edward Christopher Ross, he later adopted Hennessy as a stage name.
One of nine children, he lost his father at the age of five and emigrated when he was just 15, unable to read or write because of dyslexia.
Deputy mayor of Tralee Cllr Maireád Fernane said Hennessy was a kind and gentle man and a great ambassador for Tralee.
“He had to work hard for all his achievements.
“Nothing was handed to him on a platter.
“Christie received so much acclaim for his singing and, yet, he was such a humble man that he never really understood why he received it,” the mayor said.
“He had such a hard road reaching his goal that he never really realised that he had got there.”
The unveiling ceremony ended with the singer’s three children, Hermione, Amber and Tim, singing one of his best-known songs, Jealous Heart, to rapturous applause.
His brothers, Jimmy and Oliver, were also present.
An annual musical festival is planned to perpetuate the memory of Christie Hennessy in Tralee.