Sadness at death of well-known Ballina musician

COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLINA - WESTERN PEOPLE (AUGUST 27 EDITION)

Ballina-born Gerry Diamond, who died earlier this month in County Galway, was a well-known musician who is best known for his time with 1980s Ballina band, Mother Hubbard.

During its heyday in the 1980s, at a time when Ballina had a vibrant band scene, Mother Hubbard was a live music force to be reckoned with, garnering a reputation as one of the finest rock groups ever to come out of Mayo.

The rock quartet featured the talented Gerry on bass, his brother Ray (lead guitar), Johnny Joyce (vocals), Dave Silcock (vocals) and Dave Deane (drums). The band gigged extensively across Ireland, as well as in London and Holland.

Gerry was a native of Bridge Street, Ballina, where his parents, Noel and Rosaleen Diamond, ran a well-known and successful fruit and vegetable shop.

Pre-Mother Hubbard, and as young teenagers, the two Diamond brothers played in Static Image, a late 1970s band which also consisted of local musicians Joe Armstrong, Willie Cox, Michael Connor and Philip Cassidy. Gerry went on to become prominent on the Galway music scene, where he lived for many years.

In 2016, Mother Hubbard came together again for the first time in three decades for a reunion show in Brennan’s Lane, Ballina, where a packed house heard the boys belt out rock classics from the 1970s and 1980s and perform some of their own original material.

Gerry is survived by his wife, Anne, and brother, Ray. His mother, Rosaleen, died in March of this year.