Ed Reavy

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ed Reavy

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| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

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| birth_date = 1897

| birth_place = Barnagrove, County Cavan, Ireland

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| death_date = {{death year and age|1988|1897}}

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| genre = Irish

| occupation = Musician, composer

| instrument = Fiddle

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| label = Victor

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Ed Reavy (1897–1988)US Passport application, 1922, and SS death index was an Irish-American musician and composer of numerous traditional Irish dance tunes. Born in the townland of Barnagrove (aka Barnagrow, Barnagrows or Barr na gCnó), Knappagh, County Cavan,{{Cite web|url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cavan/Knappagh/Barnagrows/1046485/|title=National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911|website=www.census.nationalarchives.ie}} he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1912 where he settled in the Irish-American enclave of Corktown (now part of Powelton Village). Except for two visits back to Ireland, he remained in the Philadelphia area for the remainder of his life.

Biography

Reavy was a fiddler, and recorded in 1927 for the Victor record label, including two reels ("The Boys of the Lough" and "Tom Clark's Fancy") and two hornpipes ("The Donegal" and "The Cliff"). More than one hundred of his compositions have been published, and his sons have estimated that there may be more than five hundred in total.{{cite book|title=The Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy|first=Joseph M.|last=Reavy|publisher=Green Grass Music|date=1996|isbn=978-0952837008}}

His most famous tune may be "The Hunter's House".{{Cite web|url=https://irishtunecomposers.weebly.com/ed-reavy.html|title=Ed Reavy (1897-1988)|website=The Irish Tune Composers' Pages|accessdate=27 February 2021}}

His compositions and style of fiddling found their way back to Ireland and were very influential in the development of modern Irish Traditional Music.{{cite book|title=Celtic Music : 3rd Ear - The Essential Listening Companion|first=Kenny|last=Mathieson|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|date=2001|isbn=978-0879306236|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/celticmusic00kenn}}

Reavy was president of the Irish Musicians' Association of America.

In 2000, he was posthumously awarded the title "Composer of the Century" by an Irish-American organization.{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishecho.com/2011/02/echoes-of-the-millennium-the-trad-century-2/|title=Echoes of the Millennium: The trad century|date=16 February 2011|first=Earle|last=Hitchner|website=The Irish Echo}}

Ed Reavy

Biography

References

Further reading