Fairport Convention ex Jerry Donahue suffers stroke

A picture of Jerry Donahue — Jerry Donahue (Image credit: Getty)

Former Fairport Convention and Fotheringay guitarist Jerry Donahue is unlikely to ever play the guitar again after suffering a stroke.

The 69-year-old has been left with a degree of paralysis on his right-side and is unable to talk properly due to aphasia brought on by the stroke.

Donahue’s daughter Kristina Donahue Daly says: “Dad suffered an ischemic stroke with hemorrhagic conversion. Every doctor who’s looked at his chart is amazed that he survived. So, for that, we’re truly grateful.

“However, he has global aphasia, which makes it incredibly difficult to communicate and is, as you can imagine, very frustrating. His occupational therapist said she’d never before worked with someone with his level of aphasia.

“He also has right-side paralysis and his doctor said he will probably never play the guitar again. This being said, my dad has made progress regaining muscle control on the right-side and we are not giving up on him.”

Daly says that the family remain positive about Donahue’s future and says he would love to hear from fans as he continues his recovery.

She adds: “Dad is very strong and stubborn – he can do this! Please continue sending thoughts, prayers, and all the healing vibes his way. To those who have sent cards, thank you. I know it means so much to him. If you’d like to, you’re more than welcome to send videos saying hello, too. He’d love it.

“You should also know that he’s had a bit of agitation – naturally – but all things considered he’s in pretty good spirits. He’s working hard with speech, occupational, and physical therapy and, though it will be a long road, he’s doing fine.”

Donahue has most recently worked with guitar trio the Hellecasters alongside Will Ray and John Jorgenson.

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.