Eithne Vallely, the traditional Irish musician and educator, died on Friday morning after a road traffic collision on the Portadown Road in Armagh. She was 81. The death drew immediate tributes from Dáire Hughes and Thomas O'Hanlon, who pointed to her long work in music and teaching.
Brian and Armagh Pipers Club
Vallely and Brian founded the Armagh Pipers Club in 1966, beginning a body of work that Armagh Pipers Club said brought music into the lives of children for six decades. The club also said she served as director of music there.
Dáire Hughes, a Sinn Féin MP, described her as a "tremendously gifted" musician and a "giant of Irish cultural life". He said her decades of contribution to music and cultural expression "cannot be overstated" and pointed to her "countless awards and honours".
Thomas O'Hanlon on Armagh
Thomas O'Hanlon, an SDLP councillor, said the news was "devastating" and that Vallely "made Armagh her home". He said he had witnessed her patience, care and encouragement given to young people in recent years.
O'Hanlon also said she was a gifted teacher, an experienced administrator and Director of Music, placing her work across performance, education and organisation. Vallely was originally from Donegal, but her public life was closely tied to Armagh for decades.
Portadown Road in Armagh
What caused the collision on the Portadown Road in Armagh has not been set out in the tributes, and no further step was given in the material available. For people who learned from her or played with her, the immediate consequence is her absence from the musical life she helped build across Armagh and beyond.
