{"id":224320,"date":"2026-01-03T00:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224320\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T00:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:16:20","slug":"tributes-pour-in-for-northern-ireland-punk-legend-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224320\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes pour in for Northern Ireland punk legend \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Tributes have poured in following the death of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/punk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/punk\">punk<\/a> legend Petesy Burns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Northern Irish guitarist and songwriter passed away peacefully at home in recent days, according to family members.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Petesy, described as \u2018the true godfather of punk\u2019, is best known for his involvement with a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/punk-rock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/punk-rock\">punk bands<\/a> across Northern Ireland including Belfast outfit, The Outcasts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The group posted a glowing tribute online in the hours following his death.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/news\/northern-ireland\/a-dream-son-and-warrior-to-the-end-father-pays-tribute-to-young-boxer-after-passing-aged-26-YEMT3Z43YFALXHFOWYSDT7D7AE\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"&#x2018;A dream son and warrior to the end&#x2019;: Father pays tribute to young boxer after passing aged 26\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/BJSFQI2LBNMANAV6OYHK6RR2CE.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/news\/northern-ireland\/ill-do-anything-to-win-meet-the-two-northern-ireland-contestants-starring-in-the-traitors-2026-NRXWFOW45NAGTJAWY5W7SYWNTI\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"&#x2018;I&#x2019;ll do anything to win&#x2019; &#x2013; Meet the two Northern Ireland contestants starring in The Traitors 2026\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WSZH3UQMYVAODIO4OEHTFQXPCY.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cNo words can express the sadness of losing our old mucker. Condolences and thanks go out to Anthea for the care and dignity she gave him at the end,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cHe was so loved in the punk world &amp; I mean the world. Everyone who met him loved him, but especially here. Rest in peace brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Many from Northern Ireland\u2019s punk scene past and present paid tribute to Petesy following his death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cPetesy used to tell me I was very cynical for being 15 &#8230;.but we all used to hang around Just Books, drinking beer, eating guff (his really good veggie stew) and talking politics. For hours,\u201d Sheena Bleakney wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe all got involved in Giros and Petesy was a huge character. Everyone knew him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cHe always loved a deep discussion and music. And he continued to play in punk bands and tour right up until just recently. His energy and passion for punk was limitless.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI feel for his wife Anthea and his children Oran and Caoimhe &#8230;their hearts must be in a million pieces. My thoughts and condolences to them, at this terrible time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI would bump into him from time to time and he was the sort of person were you would just pick up the conversation and he still had the same ethics from his youth ..which was a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cOur last conversation was how amazing it was all the old punks still supported each other. Uppa punks Petesy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cShocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Petesy Burns (The Outcasts, Stalag 17, the Hoakers etc.) today,\u201d Joe Moody posted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cHe was a true Belfast punk legend, a Harp Bar original, and a good human. R.I.P. Petesy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/belfast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/tags\/belfast\">Belfast\u2019s<\/a> \u2018Oh Yeah! Centre\u2019 also posted a tribute following his death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe are so sorry to hear about Petesy Burns. A lovely man, a Belfast punk legend. Rest in peace Petesy,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Belfast\u2019s Harp Bar, a landmark spot for Belfast\u2019s punk scene also posted following his passing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWords fail me at this time to share about the passing of one of the most beautiful human beings around \u2026 our much loved Petesy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cEVERYBODY LOVED PETESY<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cMy heart goes out to Anthea and all the family at this very sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Heart project also paid tribute to Mr Burns for his work supporting the organisation in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cIt is with broken hearts we announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Petesy Burns,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cPetesy facilitated our Tai Chi class for 20+ and in the past year and half helped many individuals through his counselling sessions within the Maureen Sheehan Centre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cHe was the calmest most beautiful soul and when people say \u2018one of life\u2019s true gentlemen\u2019, he really was and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cEven through the pandemic he continued the Tai Chi via videos in the most beautiful of settings in his beloved Newcastle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWords just don\u2019t seem enough to express how much we appreciated you and will miss you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe offer our heartfelt condolences to Anthea, Petesy\u2019s children and their entire families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tributes have poured in following the death of punk legend Petesy Burns. The Northern Irish guitarist and songwriter&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4501,93,61,60,278,84549,115541],"class_list":{"0":"post-224320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-punk","14":"tag-punk-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}