Frank Harte - Legacy

Legacy

Frank Harte died of a heart attack, aged 72, on the 27th of June, 2005 and is survived by his wife Stella (née Maguire), daughters, Sinead and Orla, and his sons Darragh and Cian. His influence is still evident in singers such as Karan Casey. Frank continues to be remembered fondly in sessions and folk clubs on both sides of the Irish sea.

At the 2005 Whitby Folk Week a tribute to Frank Harte entitled "Through Streets Broad and Narrow" was held at the Resolution Hotel Function Room, on Monday August 22, 2005 at 6:00pm. It featured Ken Hall and Peta Webb, Jim McFarland, Niamh Parsons, Jerry O'Reilly, Jim Mageean, George Unthank, Alan Fitzsimons, Pete Wood, Grace Toland, Brian Doyle, Patricia Flynn, Geordie McIntyre and Alison MacMoreland, The Wilsons, Eamonn O'Broithe, Roisin White, Bruce Scott, Rosie Stewart and others.

In September 2006, the first Frank Harte Festival was organised and held in Dublin by Jerry O'Reilly and other members of An Góilín Traditional Singer's Club. The second and third festivals were held in September 2007 and 2008, again organised by An Góilín, and the festival is intended to be an annual event taking place on the last weekend of September each year. As part of the festival, a walk takes place around an area of Dublin associated with Frank's songs. In 2011 it was in Glasnevin cemetery. In 2012 it was based on central Dublin, around Trinity College.

In May 2008, the third Frank Harte Memorial Prize was given at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street, in association with the DIT faculty of the built environment, RTÉ and the Teachers' Union of Ireland. The prize is awarded to students in their second year of their studies in Construction Technology and Design.