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The Wild Goose
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Come Along
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Go To Sea No More
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The Cliffs Of Baccalieu
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The Boys Of The Island
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The Ryans And The Pittmans
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Farewell To Tarwathie
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The Squid Jiggin Ground
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The Hills Of Glenswilly
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As Johnny Went Ploughin
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The Green Shores Of Fogo
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A Great Big Sea / The Copper Plate Reel
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Come To The Bower
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Fear a'Bheata
Liner Notes
I guess I first met Ryan's
Fancy at the Legion in Pleasantville, St. John's, in the autumn of 1973. I
was a newly arrived CFA television producer who at the tender age of
twenty-nine had uprooted his wife and two young children from their
comfortable suburban existence in beautiful downtown "Ontario"
to travel to a new life and a new home in Newfoundland. At the time, the
early 70s, Ryan's Fancy was enjoying a growing popularity in Atlantic
Canada, particularly at the Strand Lounge in St. John's. The boys too, had
uprooted themselves from their native Ireland and had chosen to settle in
Newfoundland, pursuing both careers in music, and their individual
dabblings in academia at Memorial University. One of the first challenges
thrown at me upon arriving in St, John's, was to get a CBC National
Network Series out of Newfoundland as quickly as I could. That somewhat by
chance meeting at the Pleasantville Legion, was the beginning of a
wonderful professional and personal relationship with Denis, Dermot, and
Fergus, that has spanned nearly three decades, at least three television
series, many Network Television Specials, and still exists to this day.
From 1974 to 1983, the Ryan's Fancy television shows, in various
configurations, traveled extensively throughout Atlantic Canada. We
journeyed from Charlotte County, New Brunswick, to the banks of the mighty
Miramichi; from Dorchester Penitentiary to Ingonish, Cape Breton; from
Orwell Corner, Prince Edward Island, to Change Islands, Newfoundland; and
from Voisey's Bay, Labrador, to Branch on the Cape Shore. It was always
our philosophy to take the show to the people and let the people be our
special guests.
In 1999 and 2000, the local CBC Television station in St. John's
rebroadcast some of the old Ryan's Fancy shows as part of an innovative
series called "Rewind". The re-runs generated a great deal of
interest and nostalgia. It was noted by many just how timeless the shows
were and how well the music had survived the test of time. This collection
of songs is a response to that renewed interest in the music of Ryan's
Fancy. With the disbanding of Ryan's Fancy in 1983 I had placed most of
the pre-recorded music tapes and field tapes from the shows in the care of
the Folklore Archives at Memorial University in St. John's. The Archives
have been the source of much of the material used on this recording.
I personally feel that Ryan's Fancy's arrival in Newfoundland was a
pivotal event in the emergence of modern Newfoundland culture. As the trio
played to packed houses night after night in the Strand Lounge in St.
John's, young Newfoundlanders re-discovered traditional music. It was the
music that their parents and grandparents had played and sung and danced
to; music that for more than a generation had been deemed
"un-cool" but was still very much alive at kitchen "
parties " or parlour "times". Ryan's Fancy popularized the
traditional music and dragged it kicking and screaming out of the closet
for the enjoyment of all. The momentum generated by their arrival has not
stopped: The Irish Descendants, The Punters, The Fables, Great Big Sea,
and others, all credit Ryan's Fancy with lighting the spark.
Although the lads have not performed together as a group since 1983, music
is still an important part of their lives. Denis Ryan, although being a
successful investment manager living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has released
two CDs. Dermot O'Reilly owns and operates a recording studio, in Torbay,
Newfoundland and performs on a regular basis. Fergus O'Byrne lives in St.
John's, Newfoundland, tours extensively throughout North America and
Europe, and continues to be an influential force on the East Coast music
scene.
Great memories:
Jack Kellum
Executive Producer Performance Programs
CBC Television
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Dermot O'reilly
Denis Ryan
Fergus O'Byrne