Patsy Dan Rodgers (''Patsaí Dan Mag Ruaidhrí'') was a painter, musician, and the King of Tory from the 1990s until his death in 2018.

Biography

Rodgers was born in 1944 on

Westland Row Westland Row is a street on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs along the east end of Trinity College Dublin. History Westland Row first appears on maps in 1776. It was originally known as Westlands after Willi ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. His family adopted him and took him to Tory when he was about four years of age. His paintings have been exhibited worldwide. As a youth Derek Hill had personally inspired him to paint during Hill's visits to Tory, and he was also devoted to music and his

native language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

. The musical instrument with which he was most associated was the

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed ae ...

. He often sported a black

seafarer A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

's cap. During the 1970s and 1980s, he steadfastly opposed the relocation of Tory's inhabitants to the Irish mainland. The Kingship of Tory was granted him during the 1990s when the children of his predecessor, Padraig Óg Rodgers, endorsed him for the position, and for more than two decades Rodgers often personally welcomed visitors arriving in Tory in his native tongue. He also performed ambassadorial duties when abroad. While visiting nearby in May 2016,

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

expressed the wish to one day visit Tory and meet Rodgers, but he never did. In 1997, Rodgers received an honorary

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

. Rodgers resided at West Town. He died on 19 October 2018 in the Mater Hospital in Dublin at the age of 74. His remains were flown back to Tory, where he was buried following a funeral ceremony attended by various dignitaries from neighbouring lands. Rodgers was survived by his three daughters, one son, and two grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Patsy Dan 1944 births 2018 deaths Irish kings Tory Island 20th-century accordionists 20th-century Irish painters 21st-century accordionists 21st-century Irish painters Artists from County Donegal