Northern Ireland

Guitar Heroes to tell their stories in Linen Hall Library online workshop

Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell. Picture by Mal McCann
Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell. Picture by Mal McCann Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell. Picture by Mal McCann

THIN Lizzy original guitarist Eric Bell and Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers are among 'Guitar Heroes' taking part in an online workshop in Belfast.

Linen Hall Library will next month host several leading guitar players for the series starting on May 10.

Musician and songwriter Ricky Warwick of Black Star Riders and Andy Cairns from Therapy? are also among the line-up.

It is part of the 'Making the Future' project, which is one of the library's "most ambitious online programmes since lockdown began".

Guitar Heroes will see some of the north's best-loved guitarists chat about their musical influences, how growing up in Northern Ireland shaped their musical styles and the impact their music has had on their own and other generations over the years.

BBC presenter and Irish News columnist Ralph McLean will host the online workshop.

Meanwhile, other events due to take place at the library next month include a look at "an alternative political path loyalism and Northern Ireland could have taken".

At a time of great uncertainty for loyalism and Northern Ireland, Tony Novosel, senior lecturer emeritus of history at the University of Pittsburgh, will examine a "path that may have prevented many of the problems facing both today".

An online launch of Professor Feargal Cochrane's book, Northern Ireland: the Fragile Peace, will also take place on May 19.

The publication, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Christopher Ewart Biggs Memorial Prize on its original release, considers the north's troubled history from the struggle for Irish independence in the 19th century to the present day.

For further information, visit linenhall.com.