Denis Ryan

Born in Newport, County Tipperary, Ireland, Ryan immigrated to Toronto in 1969. He formed the Irish- Canadian folk group Ryan's Fancy in 1970 with Fergus O’Byrne and the late Dermot O’Reilly and moved to St. John's Newfoundland in 1971 to attend Memorial University where he graduated with a degree in Folklore. Ryan and his family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1980 and have been residing there ever since.

Ryan's career has spanned more than 40 years. He has performed all over the world, appearing in over two hundred television shows in both Ireland, USA, and Canada, including 78 TV shows with the Ryan's Fancy Tommy Makem syndicated series. The group also had a national TV series on CBC in 1976. Other TV shows included Ryan's Fancy on Campus in the late 70's and early 80's, also on the CBC. They recorded 13 albums. In early 2011, Ryan's Fancy released their 40th Anniversary Collection.