~ Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann ~   Boston              

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   CCE Northeast Regional Hall of Fame Inductee 

Larry Reynolds, Sr.  -  Fiddle

Inducted to its The Hall of Fame by

     Larry Reynolds, Sr.- (fiddle) was born in a little town called Ahascragh in Co. Galway in 1932—the 12th of 13 children, 6 girls and 7 boys. He began to learn the fiddle at age 10 when his brother Harry bought one for him. His sister Betty, working as a domestic for a family in Ballinasloe, paid 30 shillings a quarter for Larry, for lessons from Mabel West. Larry says that he always enjoyed the traditional music, listening to it over the radio whenever the opportunity presented itself.

    Larry's boyhood home was a well-known gathering place for music and house dancing, where there was "never a shortage of either." He played with a couple of different bands in Ireland before emigrating to Boston in 1953, where he met his future wife Phyllis, a piano player. They were married and blessed with 7 children—6 boys and 1 girl. Over the years, Phyllis imparted her knowledge of music to their children, meanwhile graciously hosting in their Waltham home innumerable musicians, singers, dancers, and friends from the U.S. and Ireland.

    Since coming to the States in the 50s, Larry has played with several groups: The Tara Ceili Band, The Connaught Ceili Band, The Boston Ceili Band, Tommy Sheridan Band, Tara Hill, and The Boston Comhaltas Ceili Band. Larry recorded with The Connaught Ceili Band, and with Comhaltas band members and guests on the album We're Irish Still (1980). Having hosted the Comhaltas Concert Tour Group in 1973, '74, and '75, Larry and others founded the Boston Hanafin-Cooley Branch of CCE in Boston in 1976, and have hosted the tour group every year since (except in 2001, when the tour was cancelled). He is also Treasurer of the North American Provincial Council of CCE. Having always enjoyed his association with Comhaltas, he can't imagine not being involved, he says, in promoting Ireland and her music, with the help of his wife Phyllis, their family and their many friends.

    In 1984, Seamus Connolly and Larry began broadcasting a one-hour radio program on station WNTN Boston, Saturday mornings. When Seamus became busier organizing the Gaelic Roots Festival, Larry's son Sean stepped in to help. Larry and Sean continue to host the 1-1/2_ hour broadcast from noon to 1:30 p.m. every Saturday (Eastern Standard Time)—heard live around the world on www.wntn.com.

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      The Boston Comhaltas Ceili Band , formed in 1976, grew naturally out of sessions and musical  friendships. Current band members Larry Reynolds, Sr. and Tom Sheridan played with the old Boston Ceili Band of the 50s. The current band has played out for more than 15 years, performing from Alaska to the Grecian Islands to the Caribbean, from Cleveland in the mid-west to Cape Cod in the East, at ceilis in resort hotels in the Catskills and at fabulous hotels in downtown New York City. Ready to play at both local benefits and major Irish music festivals, the band has built their reputation also in part upon their great musical depth. Seamus Connolly plays with the band occasionally. Larry Reynolds, Sr. and his sons Mike and Sean, his nephew Pat, and father and son Fergus and John Keane are band regulars. Other fine musicians play now and then: Tara Lynch, Tom Sheridan, Jimmy Hogan, and Martin Cloonan among them.

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