Music world mourns one of the very best - Liam Reilly of Bagatelle

In his native town, Liam is remembered as a proud Dundalk man, who encouraged up and coming musicians and who donated his talents and money to charity.

Liam grew up in the Avenue Road and went to school in the CBS. He trained as a primary school teacher but music was his first and enduring love as he had started out playing traditional music .

Soon, however, he graduated to playing rock 'n' roll and founded Bagatelle along with fellow Dundalk musician Wally McConville, John O'Brien and Ken Doyle

Bagatelle had a string of hits, not just 'Summer in Dublin' which went straight to No 1 and was the first of six No 1 hits and countless top 10 songs, including 'Trump Card', 'Second Violin', 'Lesson Street Lady', earning them platinum as well as gold records sales.

They enjoyed huge success in Ireland, making them the envy of other up and coming bands such as U2, and also made a name for themselves in the United States.

Liam took a break from the band for a time in the mid-1980s, living in Savannah, Georgia, where he concentrated on pursuing a solo career. He returned to Ireland and rejoined Bagatelle.

While the line-up changed over the years, Bagatelle remained on of the hardest working bands in Ireland, celebrating their 40th anniversary with a tour

Liam's talent as a songwriter saw his songs being covered by the likes of The Wolfe Tones and The Dublin City Ramblers, who enjoyed hits with compositions.