// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Tributes paid to 'giant' of Irish traditional music scene
Eithne Vallely has been described as a "tremendously gifted" musician
A renowned traditional Irish musician and educator who died following a road crash in County Armagh has been described by a Sinn Féin MP as a "giant of Irish cultural life".
Eithne Vallely, 81, who was originally from Donegal, died following a road traffic collision on the Portadown Road in Armagh on Friday morning.
Dáire Hughes said her decades of contribution to music and cultural expression "cannot be overstated" and is "evidenced by her countless awards and honours".
He added that she was "tremendously gifted" and passed her passion for music on to her family and the wider community through the founding of the Armagh Pipers Club with her husband, Brian.
Eithne and her husband Brian founded the Armagh Pipers Club in 1966
"Her legacy will live on, through them and the countless others she inspired," he said.
Hughes offered condolences to Vallely's husband and children and all "those who had the pleasure of playing music with her, or learning from her".
SDLP Councillor Thomas O'Hanlon described the news as "devastating".
He said that while Vallely was originally from Donegal, "she made Armagh her home".