~ Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann ~   Boston              

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   CCE Northeast Regional Hall of Fame Inductee 

Paddy Reynolds  -  Ceili Drums

Inducted to its The Hall of Fame by

     Paddy Reynolds - ceili drums - began playing in 1969 on a set of drums his father purchased for him. A nephew of Larry Reynolds, Sr., Paddy has heard Irish music all of his life. Influenced by watching George Shanley at ceilis in Boston, Paddy practiced at home to recordings, and played out himself for the first time at a Boston Irish Music Club social led by Mike McDonagh. Tommy Sheridan spotted Paddy there, and asked him to play with the Connaught Ceili Band, whose other members included Sally and Jimmy (RIP) Kelly, Martin McDonagh, Brendan Tonra and Larry Reynolds, Sr., Eamon Flynn and Mike Lavelle. When they weren't playing for a ceili, they broke down to a five-piece band for weddings and clubs. Veteran musicians such as Frank Neylon, Jimmy Hogan, Gene Preston, and Larry Reynolds kept Paddy busy over the years. And Larry Reynolds in Boston still keeps him busy with the Boston Comhaltas Ceili Band—at dances, in concerts, and on Caribbean cruises.

     It was at a ceili in Allston that Paddy met Maureen, his wife of 26 years now. They have five children, one of whom has stayed with the music. And through these years, while raising his family, Paddy helped found or played in other bands: The Irish Mist, The Silver Spear Showband, and The Westmeath Bachelors. Paddy still plays with Ron Cote and the Castle Tones (an oldies band with Irish influences), and the Mike Reynolds Band.

    And still, after almost 34 years of ceili music, Paddy feels that is where he's most comfortable. He has, with Maureen, always had the freedom to enjoy what his father left to him—a love of Irish music and culture.  Paddy is looking forward to hearing his youngest son, Mike, carry on their love of ceili drumming.

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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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