Musicians honour Telegraph’s Neil Johnston

A CONCERT has been held in memory of a Belfast Telegraph journalist who helped launch the careers of traditional musicians thanks to his column.

Neil Johnston championed the careers of many folk musicians over four decades before his death aged 68 in August 2012.

‘Remembering Neil Johnston’ was held at The Duncairn arts centre in north Belfast on Saturday. The line-up included the Sands Family and Neil’s close friend Arty McGlynn, who wanted to remember his pal’s contribution to bolstering their careers.

Singers Maurice Leyden and Jane Cassidy were the prime movers behind the concert, in liaison with Neil’s widow Myrtle and their children Catherine and Conor. “It was essentially my husband Maurice’s idea, and it came about from him collating all of Neil’s folk columns in the Belfast Telegraph,” Jane said.

KEVIN SCOTT Clockwise from above: Neil Johnston’s daughter Catherine and widow Myrtle; Nollaig Casey and Arty McGlynn, Jane Cassidy and Maurice Leyden, and (inset) the late writer