A Cork musician has released a new song in tribute to Kirsty MacColl on the 20th anniversary of her death.
MacColl, probably best known for her duet with Shane MacGowan on The Pogues' Christmas classic A Fairytale of New York, died tragically and in highly controversial circumstances after being hit by a powerboat while diving with her children in Mexico in December 2000.
Now Cork singer and multi-instrumentalist Martin Leahy has penned A Song For Kirsty MacColl in tribute to the artist, who was the daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl and who enjoyed a solo career with hits such as A New England and They Don’t Know.
"I've always been a fan of Kirsty MacColl's music," Leahy says. "The mysterious injustice of her death has stayed with me over the years and I've always had it on my mind to write a song for her.
"It's emotive every year around this time to hear her voice on Fairytale of New York coinciding with her anniversary. I wanted to mark the 20th anniversary of her death this year with a song."
Leahy has been a playing on the Irish music scene for about 20 years and has worked with John Spillane, Christy Moore on his No.1 album Listen, Cormac O Caoimh, and Declan Sinnott.
He produced O Caoimh’s album Swim Crawl Walk Run and Ger Wolfe’s album I Have Been Loved, and is also a member of the traditional Irish group North Cregg.
