CHARLOTTETOWN (CUP) - Today, the traditional music of Atlantic Canada is known across the world. Performers such as Natalie MacMaster, the Rankin Family, and Great Big Sea have international reputations and have toured the world. The success of this musical genre, however, is relatively recent. As a matter of fact, it was not until the 1980s that this music began to be accepted outside the small communities in which it originated.

One person who has witnessed the dramatic transformation of the East Coast's music scene is Fergus O'Byrne. According to O'Byrne, the Atlantic Canadian musical breakthrough of the 1990s was a direct result of the hard work put forward by the region's musical forefathers. "I believe that over the years, because of the groundwork of performers like Ryan's Fancy, John Allan Cameron, [and] Rawlin's Cross, to name a few, both the public and the music industry people have realized the commerial potential of music from the East Coast."

O'Byrne is no stranger to the music industry. Since arriving in Canada in 1967 from his home in Dublin, Ireland, he has had a distinguished career. Shortly after emigrating, he co-founded the group Ryan's Fancy, which went on to become highly respected, having championed Atlantic Canadian music on their own nationally televised CBC series. After a successful run in the industry, 13 years in total, Ryan's Fancy called it a day.

"In 1983, we decided to go our separate ways and follow our own interests" O'Byrne added. "Denis [Ryan] became an investor/stock broker, Dermot [O'Reilly] continued in the music business, and I went back to school and got a degree in education while I continued performing."

O'Byrne's best known work since the demise of Ryan's Fancy has been as part of a duo with Jim Payne. This teaming had an unusual beginning. "I knew Jim for a good while before we actually worked together. One year in the early 90s we worked together on the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival....

An act failed to show, so Jim and I rounded up a bunch of singers and went on and led off a bunch of shanties and work songs." The off-the-cuff performance raised some eyebrows. According to O'Byrne, "It was suggested by a record industry guy that we should look to recording some of the material." The result of this suggestion was the 1995 CD Wave Over Wave, which has received acclaim as one of the strongest collections of Atlantic Canadian traditional songs available.

O'Byrne and Payne have travelled extensively, this year alone touring the United States, Canada, Ireland, Denmark and Holland. Organizing these tours, as might be expected, is quite the undertaking. Noted O'Byrne, "Having had a long career in the business certainly helps to knock on doors when trying to work on building tours and getting gigs, but it still requires a lot of leg work when not on tour.... I find it just takes a lot of work at home, and on the computer, especially, to put together these tours."

In addition to performing together as a duo, O'Byrne and Payne have many other projects they are working on. Payne owns the Newfoundland record label Singsong and is part of the comedy duo Sods and Rhymes. O'Byrne plays with the award-winning group Tickle Harbour, does solo work, and is involved with a production called Celebrating Our Heritage. "It involves slides, stories and songs of Ireland, Newfoundland, and also Atlantic Canada. Primarily, my objective is to give children a good sense, and pride in their own culture and heritage."

Throughout his career, O'Byrne has been deeply involved with the preservation of local songs, a matter close to his heart. "It's getting harder to collect music right from the source as a lot of the performers of that music, unfortunately, are not with us any more. But there are vast collections of folk music that have been compiled by folklorists and collectors, such as Songs of the Newfoundland Outports by Kenneth Peacock. I would like to see more concentration by bands and performers from the various Atlantic provinces on the music from these local collections. There are literally thousands of songs that haven't been tapped yet."

O'Byrne notes that although more support from commercial and private radio would be nice, he is not upset with his lack of coverage. "I don't think myself and Jim Payne would fit the category of a Ôboy' band. But seriously, I'm committed to my career as a musician, and regardless of radio coverage or not, I intend to continue working at my trade, taking the lows with the highs as they come along. Over a span of 32 years, the highs and lows have come and gone - and I'm still here."