Guido Divito The Long Echo of Limerick Rock

Guido Divito

The Long Echo of Limerick Rock

Guido Divito, former drummer with Granny’s Intentions, earned national and international recognition during the explosive growth of Irish rock in the late 1960s and 1970s, performing with one of the era’s most acclaimed and adventurous bands.

In the history of Irish rock music — particularly in the story of Limerick’s music scene — Guido Divito stands not merely as a successful musician, but as one of the enduring architects of the city’s modern musical identity.

To many outside Ireland, the name may not instantly ring bells. But in Limerick, among musicians, promoters, collectors and devotees of Irish beat music, Guido Divito occupies a special place. He was there during the years when Irish musicians began looking beyond dancehalls and showbands toward rhythm and blues, folk-rock and Motown.

Divito’s career mirrors the trajectory of many gifted Irish musicians of his generation: ambitious beginnings, years on the road, brushes with greatness, hard-earned local respect, and finally a role as living custodian of a musical era that transformed Irish culture forever.

Guido Divido – photo by Kieran Beville

 

Limerick before rock had a name

To understand Guido Divito, one must first understand Limerick in the mid-1960s. This was not yet the Ireland of multinational festivals and arena tours. The country remained culturally conservative, economically cautious and musically dominated by the showband circuit. Dancehalls ruled the entertainment landscape. Bands travelled endlessly from town to town, playing safe repertoires for crowds seeking a night out rather than artistic revelation. But beneath that respectable veneer a new generation of young musicians was absorbing the energy of rhythm and blues, Motown and the energy of British beat groups.

Out of this ferment emerged a group first known as The Intentions before evolving into Granny’s Intentions. The band would eventually include musicians such as Johnny Duhan, Cha Haran, John Ryan, Johnny Hockedy, Jack Costelloe and Guido Divito (among others, such as Joe O’Donnell…).

From Limerick to London

Like many ambitious Irish groups of the era, Granny’s Intentions soon realised there were limits to what could be achieved at home. Ireland in the 1960s offered few pathways for experimental rock musicians. The gravitational pull was always London. The band relocated first to Dublin and later to England.

Granny’s Intentions performed in major venues including London’s Marquee Club. These were not insignificant achievements for a band originating from Limerick during an era when Irish rock remained peripheral to the British industry. Their album Honest Injun would later become a cult favourite among collectors of Irish progressive rock. Though Granny’s Intentions never achieved the global fame later attained by Thin Lizzy or Rory Gallagher, they became enormously influential within Irish music circles. They represented possibility and Guido Divito was part of that possibility.

The reunion that became legend

In August 1983, more than a decade after the band’s original heyday, Granny’s Intentions reunited for a major charity concert at Markets Field in Limerick. The event has since acquired near-mythic status in local music lore. The line-up included Guido Divito alongside Johnny Duhan, Cha Haran, Jack Costelloe, John Ryan, Johnny Hockedy and Greg Donaghy.

Its significance extended beyond nostalgia. The reunion symbolised continuity between generations of Limerick musicians. It reminded audiences that local music history deserved celebration. It also reflected the strong communal ethos surrounding many Irish musicians of Divito’s era. And there was Guido Divito again — behind the drums, keeping the pulse alive.

More than four decades after Granny’s Intentions first emerged from Limerick’s vibrant rock scene, the band had a memorable reunion at the Belltable in 2011. For long-time fans, the concerts were charged with emotion as Guido Divito once again took his place behind the drums alongside fellow original members, rekindling the energy and chemistry that had made the band famous during Ireland’s rock revolution of the late 1960s and 1970s. Audiences spanning generations packed the venue, witnessing first-hand that the power, musicianship and camaraderie which had defined the band in its heyday still remained unmistakably alive.

The forgotten architects of Irish rock

Modern discussions of Irish music often leap quickly from traditional folk forms to globally successful acts like The Cranberries or U2. But the transition was not automatic. There existed an in-between generation — restless regional bands experimenting with identity during the cultural upheavals of the 1960s. Granny’s Intentions belonged squarely within that movement.

A soundtrack to changing Ireland

Like many young Irish musicians of the 1960s, Guido came of age during a period of enormous cultural change. He helped bring a new spirit of originality and ambition to Irish music, moving beyond the traditional showband formula and embracing the influences of rock, rhythm and blues and Motown. In doing so, the band became part of a generation that transformed the sound and identity of modern Irish popular music.

From William Street to the stage

To generations of Limerick people, the Divito name meant more than music. It also meant food, family and one of the city’s best-known meeting places. The Divito family owned the much-loved Golden Grill fish-and-chip café on William Street, a landmark familiar to countless customers, musicians, workers and courting couples. For Guido, music and community were never separate worlds.

There is also an intriguing family connection — Guido’s grandfather and the grandfather of actor Danny DeVito were brothers, linking the Limerick Divitos to one of America’s most recognisable entertainment name. The story adds another colourful thread to an already remarkable tapestry.

In more recent years Guido performed with the band Stone Free, a formidable line-up of seasoned musicians that included Brendan Wall on saxophone, harmonica and vocals — widely admired as a superb musician with a distinctive voice — alongside celebrated guitarist Johnny Fean, formerly of Horslips and Brian Healy on bass. Depending on the occasion, the line-up also featured J.J. Hegarty on guitar and vocals. Guido also played with the superb band, Jeremiah Henry together with Johnny Fean and Jack Costello. Guido refers to his time with them as the happiest season of his long career. Divito also played with Spice and Freedom and numerous others as a session musician.

Today, Divito remains actively involved in Limerick’s live music scene. Every Sunday evening he can still be found behind the drums at The White House bar, performing alongside John O’Grady and Austin Graham. While many of his contemporaries have retired from performing, Guido continues to do what he has always done best: keep the rhythm steady, support the song and bring people together through music. And perhaps that is the truest measure of a musician’s legacy — not only the records left behind, but the fact that decades later, people still gather to hear him play.

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