O’Riordan’s loyal fans stage ‘living’ memorial one year on
IT could have been a statue, it could have been a park bench. But in the end, the most loyal Dolores O’Riordan fans felt the best way to remember the star a year on was with a ‘vibrant, living’ memorial – and with music itself.
Local musicians sang The Cranberries favourites, sparking emotion among all those who listened, at a special event, Piano for Dolores, held in Limerick city to mark the first anniversary of her death.
But one of the most special moments was when the soaringly sweet sound of her own voice filled the air, still heartbreakingly youthful, as fans bowed their heads and listened in complete silence to the new single by The Cranberries ‘All Over Now’.
Local musician Mark O’Connor, from the Ennis Road, and self-confessed Dolores superfan Stefania Bardi teamed up with Limerick Mayor James Collins and the council’s arts office to organise the event at Ormston House as a “vibrant, living memorial” to Dolores.
Originally from Sardinia, Stefania revealed it was Dolores who put Limerick on the map for her as a teenager after seeing her on an Italian TV show in the mid-1990s. And when her sister moved to Limerick in 2015, Stefania joined her. “I love it here – it is home now,” she said, adding that it is “a very welcoming place, full of great musicians”.
German sports journalist Jochen Tittman, from Munich and a lifelong fan of The Cranberries, had travelled to Limerick in the hope a memorial would be taking place. “I was very pleased to find this event and with music being played,” he said.
Event promoter Nicky Woulfe revealed he was working hard to have a permanent exhibition of his own music memorabilia, including many items relating to The Cranberries, put on display in Limerick city.
“We hope to have it up and running this year,” Mr Woulfe said.
One of his most interesting items is a poster of one of The Cranberries’ first gigs, as support act to ‘A Touch of Oliver’ at the Speakeasy in Limerick in 1990. “I took it off the wall,” he said. Asked if he ever got into trouble for this, he laughed: “I was a bold boy.”
Among the fans were Joseph Getlevog, from Limerick city, who brought three original cartoons of Dolores he found mysteriously dumped in a bin in 1997 while he was cutting grass, and which are now believed to be valuable.
He found them soon after his wife died of cancer, leaving him to rear their five children alone, the youngest aged just three weeks. “They’re all grown up now and are Dolores fans,” he said.