Approval for statue of rock legend Rory Gallagher Ulster Hall

Donegal-born Gallagher, revered as one the all-time guitar greats, died in 1995 at the age of 47.

On Tuesday evening members of Belfast City Council's planning committee gave the green light to a plan for a lasting memorial to the 'Follow Me'' singer.

Gallagher, who has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, was a mainstay artist at the Bedford Street venue during the Troubles when other acts chose not to perform in Belfast.

A final decision on the proposal, made by the Wilgar Community Forum, will be brought before full council for approval.

In 2010, a life-sized statue of Gallagher was unveiled in the town of his birth, Ballyshannon and a bronze replica of his iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster adorns a wall in Dublin's Temple Bar area.