A rising Donegal musician has donated every cent of his €500 busking competition winnings to help save the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival.
Ballyshannon native Michael Joseph McColgan was crowned the overall winner of the Letterkenny Chamber Busking Competition two weeks ago.
The 16-year-old had been planning to put his prize money towards buying an Emerald guitar after getting the chance to play one during an appearance on Highland Radio.
Instead, the young guitarist has given the entire €500 to the Rory Gallagher Festival’s GoFundMe campaign.
Announcing his thoughtful gesture in a video on Facebook, Michael Joseph said winning the Letterkenny competition had topped off an incredible summer of playing music at major events.
Busking competition winner Michael Joseph McColgan singing at the Letterkenny Chamber Busking Competition on Saturday 15th August 2026. Photo – Clive Wasson
But it is the Rory Gallagher Festival in his native Ballyshannon that has played a particularly important role in his young music career.
“Rory Gallagher Festival is in trouble, and it shouldn’t be,” he said.
Michael Joseph said performing at the festival helped more people discover him and his guitar. Many young musicians like him share the ambition of someday performing at the festival’s Big Top.
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“I want to do whatever I can to help the festival survive and be there for young performers to work toward in the future,” he said.
Michael Joseph decided the festival’s future mattered more than his guitar collection.
“I have donated the €500 prize money that I won at the Letterkenny Chamber Busking Competition to the GoFundMe in the hope that we will have the festival back in 2027,” he said.
The donation comes as the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival tunes up for a major fundraising concert with Rockathon Music Festival at Dublin’s National Stadium on Halloween night.
The ‘Irish Rock Music Festivals Together’ show will feature six acts, with three representing each festival, as both events attempt to recover from heavy losses linked to the collapse of Tickets.ie.
The Ballyshannon festival was left facing a major financial crisis after €283,151.50 in ticket revenue became tied up when the ticketing company ceased trading in June, just two days after the 2026 festival ended.
Organisers said the sum represented almost 70% of the festival’s annual income and have since been pursuing the matter through legal channels.
Michael Joseph is now among those playing his own part in that fight, and he hopes it’ll be back bigger and better than ever before.
He said: “Rory Gallagher deserves this tribute festival to continue long into the future for everything that he has done and what his music means to countless people around the world.”
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