Fergus O'Byrne is a Canadian

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

, best known as a member of the popular Irish-

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

band trio

Ryan's Fancy Ryan’s Fancy was an Irish folk music group active from 1971–1983. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, all of whom were Irish immigrants to Canada. History 1967–1970: Early ...

, and as a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

and

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') 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 head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

player.

Biography

O'Byrne was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In the late 1960s, he immigrated to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 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 ''

'' 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, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

in the traditional

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

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. In 1987 O'Byrne graduated from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

with a degree in

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, 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

by the East Coast Music Association

References

External links