Larry Redican (1908-1975)

Larry Redican is one of those composers whose tunes you've probably heard but didn't know they were his. A well known musician in his time, he is not so well known now which is a shame because he was a great fiddler and wrote some great tunes like The Galway Reel, The Culfadda, Forget me Not and Lough Key.

The following biographical information was taken from The Fiddler's Companion

Though he was born in Dublin, Redican's parents hailed from Boyle, Co.Sligo, and were both flute players. Redican, however, chose the fiddle and studied with Frank O'Higgins in Dublin before he emigrated to the United States in 1928.

He worked for much of his life for the cosmetics company Estee Lauder in New York. Redican was a member of the New York Céili Band and a member of an All - Ireland Senior Championship Trio with Galway native, Jack Coen (flute) and the late Paddy O'Brien (box).

Redican features on the following recordings

A Job of Journey Work (Cassette only) Traditional Irish music in New York and Philadelphia. Includes material recorded in the USA in the 1960's and is a tribute to one of the father figures of Irish music in New York - Larry Redican and to his musical friends.

VARIOUS: THE COLEMAN ARCHIVE VOL. 1 - THE LIVING TRADITION A wonderful "pure-drop" CD, produced by P.J. Hernon with field recordings of Sligo musicians from the archives of the Coleman Heritage Center in Gurteen. Fred Finn, Peter Horan, Joe O'Dowd, Martin Wynne (playing his reel), Larry Redican playing the banjo, Paddy Killoran in duet with Eleanor Keane/Neary, and many, many more (34 tracks). Includes a hefty booklet with biographical notes on the performers and photos.

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