Larry Reynolds and Boston's Tara Ceili Band, 1961

Tara Ceili Band (photo courtesy of Tom Garvey)
Click photo to enlarge

In memory of Larry Reynolds, who died on October 3, 2012 after a distinguished 60 year career as an Irish traditional musician.

Larry Reynolds arrived in Boston in 1953, and became involved in the Dudley Street Irish music scene in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood throughout the 1950s.

Larry joined the Tara Ceili Band, a popular dance band that formed in 1958, according to pianist Tom Garvey. The band played Saturday and Sunday nights at the Intercolonial Hall on Dudley Street.

"The pay at Intercolonial was $8.00 per musician," Garvey recalls. "I received $10, coming the furthest, from Andover."

The Tara Ceili Band went through some personnel changes and played in Jamaica Plain, Dorchester and Brighton, and around greater Boston. The photo above was taken in 1961 at Metropolitan Hall at 4 Hyde Park Avenue in Jamaica Plain Run by Metropolitan Caterers, Inc. the hall was mainly used for Irish weddings, banquets and parties.

L-R, Larry Reynolds, fiddle; Brendan Tonra, fiddle; George Shanley, drums; Frank Neylon, flute; Mickey Connolly, accordion; Tom Garvey, piano; and Terry Landers, accordion.

"This was pre-air conditioning in the halls," Tom says, "and the reason why no jackets are being worn by the band."

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