Liam Gallagher's sad link to tragic Irish uncle he's named after

Sunday World

19 hours ago

'William was killed in a workplace accident'
Liam Gallagher on stage at their Oasis Live 25 Concert at Croke Park. Photo: Steve Humphreys
The Gallagher brothers have invited their Drogheda-based cousins to their Dublin shows – with Liam sharing a touching bond with them as he's named after their tragic father.
The Sunday World has learned that William Gallagher, a brother of Liam and Noel's dad Tommy, was tragically killed in a workplace accident in the early 1970s.
The same family are grieving again after William's son, Alan 'Rusty' Gallagher, a first cousin of the Oasis stars, died unexpectedly earlier this year.
'William, or Liam as he was known, was killed in a workplace accident,' reveals a family friend.
'I think he was working for a cement factory and was tragically killed at one of their sites.
'He left behind his wife Mary and their four young song, Mark, Derek, Willie and Alan.
'Liam Gallagher was named William after him in his honour and his memory, and shorted his name like his uncle did to Liam when he was growing up.'
Tommy and William originally hailed from Duleek, Co. Meath, with the Oasis's star's father moving to Manchester, where he met their Mayo-born mother Peggy.
Peggy, who still lives in Manchester and also has a holiday home in her native Charlestown Co. Mayo, is due to travel to the Dublin concerts this weekend.
But Tommy, who has been estranged from his sons for over 30 years, is not welcome and has gone to ground in recent years with few people knowing his whereabouts.
Family portrait of the Gallagher family in the mid 1970's from left to right Noel, Paul, Liam and Mum Peggy Gallagher (Photo by Dan Callister/Liaison)
'William/Liam Gallagher and his family lived in the Ballsgrove estate in Drogheda,' reveals our source.
'I can remember when the Gallagher lads from Manchester used to come over on holidays and used to kick football in the green with their cousins.
'Everyone could remember the English lads in their bright coloured flares — it was Noel and their older brother Paul. Liam was too young at the time to be allowed out.
'The joke among the locals is 'we used play football with Oasis up in the green in Ballsgove'.
'Other locals can remember Tommy and Peggy giving them one pound coins as little treats when they were kids.'
Mary is still alive and is fondly talked about as a kind-hearted woman by locals in the Co. Louth town.
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage at Croke Park. Photo: Steve Humphreys
'There's a sad footnote to all this as one of her sons, a son of William, died unexpectedly at his home in Drogheda back in March this year,' he adds.
'He worked for Bus Éireann and left behind four children and three grandkids, and his death shocked the local community as he was a lovely guy and liked by everyone.'
When Oasis played in Cork in 1996 their Drogheda cousins were treated like VIPs in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
'They had backstage all areas passes and were looked after then,' discloses our source.
'They've been invited again this weekend to the Croke Park shows.
'Oasis usually highlight someone who's recently died in their live version of Live Forever, which they did as shows for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Diogo Jota, and I'm sure Alan will be in their thoughts when they're playing it in Croker as they would have basically grown up with their cousin and had fond childhood memories.'
Noel Gallagher at Croke Park. Photo: Steve Humphreys
Oasis also have another tragic connection to their time travelling to Ireland, revolving around the pub they used frequent.
As teenagers they went to their dad Tommy's native Duleek in Co. Meath.
'He [Liam] was good at pool, but he was also good at the pull too,' Tommy once said.
'All the girls in the village were mad for him. I made a man out of him — he was drinking pints of lager in Big Tom's pub, winning games of pool for a fiver and being a bit of a hit with the birds.'
Big Tom's closed down nearly 30 years ago and the owner of the pub was tragically killed in a car accident.
John Reilly, from Bellewstown, Co. Meath, was aged 81 when, in December 2003, his vehicle was involved in a deadly collision with another on the M1 outside Monasterboice, Co. Louth.
'He was nicknamed 'Big Tom' by locals as he named his pub after the country and western singer with that nickname, Tom McBride,' reveals a local.
'Tommy and the Gallagher lads would have known him well and would have been shocked at the tragic way he died.'