Derek Nally and Joe Nicholson were sewn into the warp and weft of Whelan’s for many a year. Sadly, both have now departed to jam at the great festival beyond but their memory and legacy remains fondly remembered and now enshrined. Dave Allen from Whelan’s tells us about the new mirror which has gone up.
“We’ve recently refurbished and extended our bar, Bourke’s, which was to the left of Whelan’s Main Entrance. We’ve renamed the space Little Whelan’s, as its now a great little space for live music, comedy etc. But we’ve wanted to do something for a while now to remember two of our friends and co-workers who were part of the fabric of Whelan’s, but sadly passed on to that great gig in the sky.
One of the things people might notice in our front bar are mirrors mentioning previous owners. One is for Peter Gilligan who owned the place around 1908 and says he was a Wine Shipper and Whiskey Bonder. More recently Gary Whelan had a mirror made up that refers to him as a Wine Drinker & Whisky Bounder. So, in keeping with that theme it seemed a mirror with gold leaf tribute might be fitting.
‘Nally & Nicholson, Purveyors of the finest yarns.’ A nod to their love of discussing all things music, touring and general industry gossip.
It refers, of course, to Derek Nally who was a promoter in Whelan’s until his untimely passing in 2010. and Joe Nicholson who was our ‘Gatekeeper’ who worked in the box office until he passed away in 2019.
Both greatly missed. Joe was never without his hat which we have included over the names in the mirror.”
