Kurt Cobain: The rock star and the rural County Tyrone town

An old graveyard in rural County Tyrone might seem an unlikely place to begin a story about one of rock music’s most famous sons.

But take a quick scan across the headstones and a familiar-sounding surname begins to stand out.

The graveyard in Carrickmore is the final resting place for several of Kurt Cobain’s Irish ancestors.

The American musician rose to fame as the lead singer for the seminal grunge ’90s band Nirvana.

Cobain, 27, was found dead at his home on 5 April 1994 after taking his own life, but the influence of his music is still felt decades later.

To mark the 30th anniversary of his passing, historians and distant relations from Carrickmore have been speaking about the rocker’s County Tyrone connections.

Diarmuid McGurk is from the Patrician Hall in Carrickmore, and earlier this week he gave me a tour of St Columbkille Church in Carrickmore.

“It’s mad to think you have one of the biggest rock bands in the world and one of the most iconic singers, and it all came from here,” he said.

“But it’s really a story about emigration.”