Oh these rugged shores of ours. It doesn’t take a scholar or world traveler to understand the appreciation for our rarefied beauty here in Newfoundland and Labrador. No, for Ireland’s Rowan Sherlock, it was love at first sight.

“I came over to Newfoundland in 2017. I was on tour with Newfoundland, the band, Sherlock recalls in a sitdown with The Herald.

“We came over in 2017 and I fell in love with the province and also met a woman when I was here as well. So I stuck around. I moved over. I applied for my work visa for Newfoundland and I got it and I came over and I was here for a good while. And the relationship unfortunately didn’t really work out with the woman that I moved over for. But I met another lady, as you do. And that’s all history now at this stage. I’ve got a house, got a baby, and am married. Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

A ringing endorsement if we’ve ever heard one. It wouldn’t take long for Sherlock, a trained classical violinist and pianist with a masters degree in music composition and classical violin, to lay down roots in the province’s vibrant music scene, linking up with the established Irish/trad outfit Rugged Shores.

“Evan (AuCoin) is the link for me with Rugged Shores because when I came over in 2017 on tour with Newfoundland, Evan and his then partner, they were part of a duet and they actually were our support for that tour. So I hadn’t met him before until that tour, and that was it. We became instant friends on that tour and we kept in touch the whole time,” Sherlock recalled.

‘First Port of Call’

“And obviously, when I moved back here, he was my first port of call. He was my link. He joined up with Rugged Shores because they were looking for another instrumental player. And then he gave me a shout a couple of years ago for Paddy’s Day, asked me if I wanted to just hop up on stage with them for one of their gigs. And I did, and it was just like an instant click and I was like, OK, this really works.”

Fast-forward to pandemic era NL, and Rugged Shores were hard at work on their latest studio effort Wild River.

“I’ve got to say, we’ve been working hard on this, a lot longer than we expected because of COVID,” Sherlock shared. “We started up and then we went to lockdown and then we came out of lockdown and went back at it and went into lockdown again and it just stalled the process so much. And even in those two years, we changed. A couple of members of the band actually swapped out due to different reasons (including longtime band staple Wayne James). But the current line up we have of the band now, it’s what the band is. It’s perfect.

“It’s 80 per cent originals,” Sherlock adds of the records’ composition. “There’s only a couple of covers on it, and even those covers we’d really, really put our own swing on it, our own arrangements and kind of production ideas, because I mean, you can do the same thing that everybody else is doing and it’ll sound fine, but it’ll just kind of go under the radar as one of those covers of the same song. So we’ve tried to make it a little bit different.”

‘A big showcase’

With the band now composed of Sherlock, Jeff Kinsman, Evan AuCoin, Jim Feehan and Bryan Efford, the lads are set to release Wild River in grand style on May 22nd at O’Reilly’s Pub in St. John’s. 

“It’s going to be a big showcase, definitely, of most of our original songs, everything that’s on the album will be performed as well as some of our songs that we play at our live shows,” Sherlock explained. “We know it’s going to be a great night and we’ve got Jackie Sullivan and Karla Pilgrim as our support.”

Those unfamiliar with the infectious stylings of Rugged Shores should ready-themselves for a kitchen party atmosphere sure to shake off the pandemic blues proper.

“That’s the main thing that we aim for is just to have a really good time,” Sherlock shared, adding that he’s always amazed at the ability of his ‘New’found home to have the innate ability to entertain seven nights a week.

“It’s one of the main draws for people to come here because they know they can go out into town on George Street or anywhere around town, and they’re going to get music and they’re going to get good quality music too, whether it’s traditional Newfoundland or Irish or other, regardless. It’s strange for a place to be able to go out on an early Thursday evening and get some really freakin’ good music. And it’s a guarantee.”

For more information on Rugged Shores visit ruggedshores.net. For tickets to the Wild River release show visit eventbrite.ca

Brenda O’Reilly, who has owned and operated O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub on George Street for 25 years, smiled for the camera as she pulled a pint behind the bar of her iconic pub. 

So many memories, including some treasured ones from the band Ryan’s Fancy. “I hosted a reception for Ryan’s Fancy when they received their East Coast Music Award and they got up and sang together for the first time in 21 years,” she said. That was very important to her, she added, because they paved the way for so many who followed in their footsteps, she added. “They had their own TV show, and I remember back when they played The Strand, people would be lined trying to get in and Fergus (O’Byrne) is still a troubadour.”

O’Byrne has played at O’Reilly’s over the past 25 years, she added. So has Patrick (Paddy as she called him) Moran of The Punters.  

Musical History

So much musical history, something she says she tries to bring to audiences around the province and beyond when she is on OZFM’s Jigs & Reels each week with Danielle Butt. 

“Danielle (Butt) and Jigs & Reels has had an impact on the music scene here and made an impact on the culture and it is amazing what that means to the music industry,” she said. 

Her voice has become famous, she joked, thanks to the weekly Sunday program. “People hear my voice in the supermarket. I’m talking to somebody or I’m getting checked out, or I’ll ask questions, and they’ll go, ‘Hey, you’re Brenda from Jigs & Reels. I listen every Sunday,’” she laughed. 

“I think we’ve been doing interviews on Sunday mornings for 20 years. I look forward to it. I love it. We don’t rehearse and we don’t practice it. We don’t know what we’re going to say. We’re just two friends chatting about the music. I try to just go off the cuff and talk about what’s real and what’s relevant and what happened that week or what’s coming up or I’m trying to help and promote the music community. It’s just all about the music here.”

Where does her passion come from? She was raised that way, she said. “I look very Irish. My last name is Irish. Growing up, my mom adored Irish music. It’s what she listened to and it’s what she sang and it’s what she danced to, so I grew up around it.”

Like many, after she finished school, she moved away to Fort McMurray for a few months. 

“There was a restaurant up there called O’Reilly’s, and I remember walking up towards it this one day and looking up and seeing the big sign, O’Reilly’s, and I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s what it will look like. I need to do that.’ So my mission then was to get home and start my mission to get to the point where I could open a place and put up that sign.”

We ask about the staff. She’s worked with many over the past 25 years. 

“Your staff become your family. You oftentimes see your staff more than you see your own family. That is one of the great things about this industry. I look back through the history of people working  here and I’m amazed,” she said. 

‘Older Familiar Faces’

“Our manager, Damian, he’s been with us 24 of the 25 years. That’s unheard of. I might be the voice of this place, but he’s definitely the face because he’s here five nights a week and has been for 24 years,” she said. 

As for customers? They feel right at home, she added. “People who move away, they come in because it’s nostalgic for them. We hope that in our 25th year we see some of those older familiar faces, almost like our own come home year.” 

When people return to this land of their birth, often they long for a little taste of traditional music, and coming to O’Reilly’s on George Street is part of that. “They missed out on our culture. They want to come to a place where someone knows your name, where you’re comfortable and the environment is familiar. People have met here and got married here. That’s special for us.”

So many characters. Like one man named Steve who used to love performing and dancing. “He would come in to dance and he’d bring tap shoes. The tourists loved him and I adored him. We were great friends.”

‘So many characters’

He could play the accordion as well, she added, though dancing was always his priority. “So many characters like that we met over the years, and they have helped make this pub a home. “

O’Reilly’s has been offering  live music seven nights a week for 25 years. “Sit back. Have supper. Enjoy some music. The Fables and The Navigators, the Irish Descendants and The Masterless Men. They’ve all performed,” she said.

One of the most amazing things, she shared, is that traditional music has no age limit or requirement. “The 19 year olds love it and of course their parents and grandparents love the music too.”

Newer artists love the O’Reilly’s stage too. From Rachel Cousins to Jackie Sullivan, to OZFM’s Shannell Lewis, many have entertained O’Reilly’s patrons. 

“We try to have a big variety of music for everybody and it’s about quality,” she said. The best part about owning an Irish pub in NL? The availability of that quality, she said. “It’s amazing how much talent we have here in this province. We are so lucky and I’m so glad it’s really finally starting to be really recognized. Traditional music has long been the fabric of the tourism industry, but I’m just so glad it’s really actually being recognized for what it is by everyone.”

She looks every bit the Irish maiden, and standing behind the bar she founded over 25 years ago, the ageless Brenda O’Reilly – one of this province’s most well-known redheads – beams. 

O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub is glowing on the day we arrive – all polished wood and sparkling memorabilia – but O’Reilly’s Irish eyes are smiling even more brightly than the lights above the bar as she opened up about the last 25 years. 

‘About Nostalgia’

“I can’t believe 25 years went by so quickly. We’ve been in two locations and survived a pandemic, so we’ve been through a lot over 25 years,” she opened with a laugh.

O’Reilly, OZFM’s Danielle Butt and Butt’s fur baby, Stevie Nicks, pose for a few photos around the pub as O’Reilly talks. Every inch of space in O’Reilly’s seems to hold some sort of memory, she said with a smile. From boat replicas to paintings to signed photographs to the stage where so many famed bands and individuals performed to the dance floor where her late mother used to kick up her heels a time or two – O’Reilly is sometimes lost for words reflecting on how blessed she’s been. 

“This place is about being comfortable and it’s about people and the music and it’s about the atmosphere. Many places you go in and you’ve got beer signs here, there and everywhere else, but we want it to be about memories. We want it to be about nostalgia.”

The boat that hangs in O’Reilly’s, the Mayflower, was given to them by her husband Craig’s grandfather, Nick Flynn. Ironically, Nick was born on St. Patrick’s Day. “He proudly gave it to us and we restored it and we hung it where it could be seen when you come in, in the area we call the session booth.”

The session booth  was actually moved from the pub’s first location, a touching way to link the two. 

“We made the back of the stage look like the old O’Reilly’s, and the bar top is the same, we moved that from the old location. We wanted it to feel the same, to look the same, and, where we could, we wanted it to be the same,” she said.

The Strand

There’s bits of history from other locations too, including an old favourite St. John’s watering hole known as The Strand.

“The clock down there on the wall, we bought that from the old Strand. And there’s a few things here that we got from there because as they closed we were opening and they had all their things for sale and we went and picked up some things like the Guinness sign here. That clock. I don’t know how old it is, but we’ve had it for 25 years and I don’t know how long it was in The Strand so it’s pretty antique. And those pink tables you see are from The Strand as well,” she said.

But, there’s new additions as well, like a painting of a fisherman. 

“We commissioned an artist years ago to paint that from a picture I found in a magazine and it’s beautiful. It’s two fishermen and you can just get a sense of Newfoundland from that picture, and that’s what we’re about,” she said.

But while the atmosphere is stunning, it is about the people and the music as well.  “We’ve had some really great people come in over the years. One night I was here Michael Burgess, who did Phantom of the Opera for years in Toronto, got up and sang. He was here on tour and he got up and sang O Holy Night. We’ve had Great Big Sea on stage and Alan (Doyle) has done a few appearances on stage.”

Doyle, on O’Reilly’s fifth anniversary, surprised many when he asked if the band could come and practice on their stage. “He called me up and said, ‘Do you think we could come down and practice our new album before we go on the road?’ And I said, ‘Oh my God, Yeah!’ So they come down and it was a Tuesday night, and we cancelled Open Mic night for them, and while on stage they announced the fact that the Junos were going to be in Newfoundland that year. So it was a couple of exciting things going on that night.”

At the end of the evening, O’Reilly’s husband presented the band with bar shirts, jokingly saying they won Open Mic that evening, she shared with a chuckle. 

Doyle has also been on the O’Reilly’s stage with pal, actor  Russell Crowe. 

“The most famous appearance is when he appeared with Russell Crowe on stage. He called me up and said, ‘Do you think a buddy of mine can come down and jam out some tunes?’ But he didn’t tell me who was coming.”

In a small town like St. John’s word got around, she continued. “It made O’Reilly’s famous for sure. We were already very popular for locals and tourists but this made us very famous and we got all kinds of buzz and all kinds of publicity from that.” 

Crowe signed a few things that now hang on the wall at the pub, more proud moments in O’Reilly’s history. Hockey star Lanny MacDonald’s been there too.

“My husband don’t care, he’ll say, ‘Do you mind if I get a picture of you behind the ball pullin’ a pint?’ None have said no. So we’ve had some great pictures. Dougie Gilmore, Lanny McDonald, Bryan Trottier, Michael Ryder and Alex Newhook and Danny Cleary.”

Cleary lives in Detroit, obviously, but when he’s home in the summers for his hockey camp he visits. O’Reilly shared that  Detroit just happens to be her dad’s favourite hockey team. “One night he was here and I told him my dad was a huge fan and the next day he came in and gave us a signed jersey. So (Cleary’s) jersey hangs here in our bar and whenever he’s home, he sits in front of his jersey.”

O’Reilly’s legacy

Musical legend Ron Hynes was a welcome addition to the O’Reilly’s legacy, she added. “Ron, over all the years, he hadn’t played here, and around the 20th year we were open I was like, ‘You know, we’re going to ask Ron to play here this year.’ We asked and he agreed and we did a showcase with Ron Hynes and it was a magical show. He was very accommodating. He sang every song anybody wanted to hear. And at the end, he played Sonny’s Dream and he stayed around and signed things for people, and he signed a poster that I had done for the show. That was the first time he had played here and as it turns out, it was one of his last gigs ever.”

O’Reilly gets emotional thinking about The Man of A Thousand Songs. “I was really charmed that I didn’t let life go by without having one of the greatest Newfoundland musicians, one of the most iconic musicians ever, play here. We’re so happy that we had him on our stage.”

As part of O’Reilly’s 25th celebrations, they’ve commissioned some artwork by artist Sailor Danny depicting some famed NL musicians.  

“We’re rolling it out in April, an installation of portraits of musicians who have played here or have influenced the music of what we do here at O’Reilly’s,” she said.

Hynes is one.  Alan Doyle is another. Fergus O’Byrne. Shanneyganock front man Chris Andrews, who was part of the house band when O’Reilly’s first opened. 

Peggy Gordon, O’Reilly shared, is her favourite Shanneyganock song. “(Shanneyganock) is perhaps my personal favourite Newfoundland band when it comes to Newfoundland music. Peggy Gordon is still my favourite song to this day. My mom loved it too,” she said.

O’Reilly’s mom worked at O’Reilly’s for 10 years, she continued. 

“No one loved Irish music more than my mom, Theresa. She passed away four years ago, but I can tell you it was very nice to have my mom working with me every day.”

Sometimes her mother would be there in the daytime cleaning or doing whatever and she’d be there dancing with the broom as she swept.

“She’d always have the music on and delivery drivers were coming and going, and she’d be dancing. Sometimes I’d see mom come out of the kitchen after making muffins for someone who’d stop by. I loved it,” she said.

 So many memories, like Ryan’s Fancy. “I hosted a reception for Ryan’s Fancy when they received their East Coast Music Award and they got up and sang together for the first time in 21 years.”

Next week, find out more about O’Reilly’s, including the bond O’Reilly has with OZFM’s Danielle Butt. 

Danielle Butt and O’Reilly’s Pub owner, Brenda O’Reilly, are havin’ a rollicking Newfoundland time as they laugh and joke as the photos for this special NL Herald cover are being taken. Snap. Flash. Chuckle. Snap. Flash. Chuckle. Repeat. While there’s much merriment (we joke about who gets to ‘save’ the beer from being wasted as O’Reilly pours pint after pint for the camera) it’s also almost surreal hanging out at O’Reilly’s during daylight hours. 

Having the pub to ourselves for the photo shoot as Danielle’s partner Glenn and the couple’s adorable pooch Stevie Nicks – named so because she shares a birthday with the famous Fleetwood Mac songstress –  explore the premises. 

When asked about her relationship with Brenda O’Reilly, Butt paused. 

“Where would I start?” she began. Little wonder Butt feels overwhelmed with nostalgia. O’Reilly’s has been a proud sponsor of Butt’s Sunday staple, OZFM’s Jigs & Reels, for decades.

A personal bond 

Now celebrating its 25th year in business, the two women share that their personal bond has grown perhaps as deep and as true as their shared love of traditional NL/Irish music. The same music that’s played on stage at O’Reilly’s each week is spun on Jigs & Reels and the two share an admiration for those musical masters who live and breathe tradition.  

“It’s like we are family. Brenda and I go back years, bonding at first because of the music, but staying connected because of a deep friendship and admiration for one another,” Butt shared, adding that having O’Reilly on her show each week is like talking to a  long treasured friend. 

“There’s no script. It’s just she and I having a beautiful conversation about a shared passion, which is music. There’s this shared earnestness when it comes to  promoting the live music scene in Newfoundland and Labrador, and when it comes to highlighting the accomplishments of musicians – both older, more established artists and those just trying to make their mark on the scene – we both really care and connect.”

Butt and O’Reilly – who both glow from the inside out while talking about musical traditions in NL – say they are both “equal parts shocked and amazed” when they think about the staying power of traditional Irish music in this province. 

“I mean, 25 years for O’Reilly’s? I never realized the history Brenda had with O’Reilly’s until now.  Ron Hynes. Ryan’s Fancy. Great Big Sea. These greats are staples on Jigs & Reels and have played in this pub,” Butt shared in awe.

Miss Nicks interrupts the interview, running by with something in her mouth. “Drop it! Drop it! Bring that here!” Butt says, gently scolding her precious pup, who’ll turn two on May 26th. 

Stevie Nicks listens to her momma, earning some cute cuddles and adorable kisses, before Butt returned to the interview.  

‘Make her rounds’

Stevie is feeling right at home, obviously a fan of the music herself considering the amount of time she spends hanging out at the OZFM office with Butt. 

“She’s in the office just about every day and she’s become part of the OZFM & NTV family. Almost everybody has treats in their desk for her now, so she likes to make her rounds,” Butt shared.

Interesting. Maybe it’s not the music after all Stevie likes, we joke. While talking favourite songs or artists would be a tough one for Butt, she does have a few of both that are special, she shared.

“All I can say is there’s no limit when it comes to talent in Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s limitless. But those who stand the test of time always move me. Masterless Men. The Irish Descendants. You never get tired of hearing something by Mark Hiscock or Chris Andrews. Ron Hynes. And I’ve gotten to know a lot of these artists over the years. I’ve helped promote their music by playing listener requests each week, and  you get to know them well,” she says. 

Butt laughs. “You know how they say everyone in Newfoundland is somehow related if you go back far enough? Well,  I actually am related to John Curran of Masterless Men. John’s grandmother and my great-grandmother were twin sisters,” she shared.

Speaking of family and connections, Butt added that she’s proud of OZFM for mixing the latest and greatest hits with traditional music for many reasons, most of all because it enables the station to appeal to musical fans of all ages. 

“I think it’s amazing that young and old alike – that all family members – can tune into OZFM each Sunday. The commitment to tradition and the legacy of this long held tradition each and every Sunday morning is just such an honour to be a part of,” she shared. 

Speaking of tradition, who cooks jiggs dinner in her home if she’s busy working? Her parents, she said with gratitude. 

Spoiled at home

“I’m very fortunate that I have my parents around and they come in on a regular basis and actually bring dinner fixings in and cook it at my house.” 

Fans of Jigs & Reels are no doubt grateful that Butt gets so spoiled at home, enabling her to keep the music going just as they’re about to sit down to their own Sunday dinner, no matter where they are in the world. “I get requests all the time from all over. So many people love the show. You hear it all the time,” she explained proudly. “It’s so rewarding to know that people are not only listening, but interacting with us through those musical requests.”

But again, while the old favourites move her soul, the new songs also get her feet tappin’ she said. 

“The fact that there’s still great music coming out. The Irish Newfoundland music scene is still alive and well, and there’s still great musicians up and coming, and we have new music being added each and every week. You never know what you’re going to hear on Jigs & Reels, but you are guaranteed to love it.”