Fergus O'Byrne is a Canadian folk musician, best known as a member of the popular Irish-

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

band trio Ryan's Fancy, and as a banjo, concertina and

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

player.

Biography

O'Byrne was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In the late 1940’s he immigrated to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, where he met Dermot O'Reilly, Ralph O'Brien and Gary Kavanagh and performed as a member of ''The Sons of Erin'' band. When The Sons of Erin parted ways, O'Byrne, Kavanagh and O'Reilly completed their remaining tour commitments as ''O'Reilly's Men'' and later formed ''Sullivan's Gypsies'' with Don Sullivan. In 1971, O'Byrne moved to St. John's,

with the rest of the trio of '' Ryan's Fancy'' to begin what was to become a very recognizable music

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

in the traditional Irish

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

for Newfoundland. In 1983 the band broke up, and O'Byrne started a solo and freelance career, touring throughout Canada, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. In 1987 O'Byrne graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a degree in

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, then serving on the Board of Directors of the St. John's Folk Arts Council and the programming committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival in St. John's. He became a member of the band Tickle Harbour, which won three awards at the 1999 Newfoundland Music Industry Association Awards

O'Byrne performed regularly with Dermot O'Reilly, one of his former Ryan's Fancy bandmates, until O'Reilly's death in February 2007. O'Byrne currently performs as part of a duo with Jim Payne (folk singer), Jim Payne, as a member of the band ''A Crowd of Bold Sharemen'', and with his son, Fergus Brown-O'Byrne. He also facilitates a program to encourage youth participation in music, under the auspices of th
St. John's Folk Arts Council
this program features a yearly workshop and concert for young traditional musicians known as "Young Folk at the Hall."

Discography

* The McGrath Family—Make the Circle Wide (2012) * Ryan's Fancy—What a Time! A Forty Year Celebration (2011) * Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne—How Good Is Me Life! (2007) * A Crowd of Bold Sharemen—Self-titled (2002) * Ryan's Fancy—Songs from the Shows (2001) * Tickle Harbour—Battery Included (1998) * Various Artists—We Will Remain: Patriotic Songs of Newfoundland (1998) * Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne—Wave Over Wave (1995) * Various Artists—Another Time: The Songs of Newfoundland (1991) * Ryan's Fancy—Irish Love Songs (1982) * Ryan's Fancy—Dance Around This One (1981) * Ryan's Fancy—Sea People (1980) * Ryan's Fancy—A Time with Ryan's Fancy (1979) * Ryan's Fancy—Brand New Songs (1977) * Ryan's Fancy—Ryan's Fancy Live (1975) * Ryan's Fancy—Times to Remember (1973) * Ryan's Fancy—Newfoundland Drinking Songs (1973) * Ryan's Fancy—Looking Back (1972) * Ryan's Fancy—Dark Island (1971) * Ryan's Fancy—An Irish Night at the Black Knight Lounge (1971) * Ryan's Fancy—Curraghs, Minstrels, Rocks & Whiskey (1971) * Sullivan's Gypsies—The Leprechaun * Sullivan's Gypsies—Ryan's Fancy sung by Sullivan's Gypsies (1970)

Guest appearances

* Glenn Vincent Breen — Over the Sea—backing vocals, "Haul Her Along" (1998) * Vince Collins — Lifting Out the Stove (2002) * Jim Fidler — Gypsy — backing vocals and bodhran, "Downtown Girl" (1995) * Fine Crowd — Sucker for Good Company (1998) * Great Big Sea — The Hard & The Easy — "Captain Kidd" (2006) * Great Big Sea — Turn (1999) * Jim Payne — Empty Nets (1992) * The Punters — Will You Wait — 5-string banjo, "Here's to Life" (2000) * The Punters — Said She Couldn't Dance — Backing Vocals, "Jolly Jack" (1998) * Shanneyganock — The Long Haul — concertina, "Sammy's Bar" (1998) * Christina Smith — Fiddle Me This (1994) * Christina Smith and Jean Hewson — Like Ducks! (1998) * Minnie White — The Hills of Home (1994)

Awards

2004 - Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award awarded to Ryan's Fancy by the East Coast Music Association

References

External links