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When Lennox and Marguerite Gavan moved to Quyon in 1947, “you could shoot a cannon down the main street on Saint Patrick’s Day and never hurt a soul”, according to Lennox. Up in Chichester they had been used to the annual Irish plays directed by Father Harrington in Chapeau in celebration of March 17th. When they got to Quyon the closest party they could find on the 17th was the Clancy Brothers’ concert at the old Capital Theatre on Bank Street in Ottawa. While that was lots of fun and Lennox had the pleasure of being introduced to a good friend of Liam Clancy, he thought one year, “Why don’t we have a great party right here in Quyon?”

At that time Lennox was on the School Board of St. Mary’s School. When he asked the other Board members what they would think of having a variety show in the school auditorium on the Sunday closest to March 17th, they said it was a dandy plan. So, in 1952, it came to pass. Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers, Donnie Gilchrist and other step-dancers, and a host of local singers and fiddlers joined the celebration.

Before long, inspired by the song, “The Chapeau Boys”, which mentions seven fine fiddlers, Lennox had gathered seven fine Quyon fiddlers: Dominic Curley, Francis Daley, Cal Cummings Sr., Reggie Workman, Jerry Lafleur, Ervin McCann and Jackie Salmon. They all appeared together, not only in Quyon, but all around the Ottawa Valley. Lennox would sing while the fiddlers “rosined their bows”. When they played, Lennox would time them on a stopwatch and use his shillelagh as a giant baton to signal them when to switch to the next selection in a medley, and when to stop.

One day at a show in Renfrew, after the Master of Ceremonies announced Lennox Gavan and his Seven Fine Fiddlers, they began to gather on the stage. Lennox, anxiously looking around, counted the fiddlers over and over but never quite got seven. Finally Cal Cummings called out gently, “Lennox, you can count as often as you like, but you can’t make seven out of six,” and they started to play.

Although the number of fiddlers has changed over the years, they still enjoy performing with Lennox at every opportunity. Sometimes they are joined by young fiddlers, beginning to learn the traditions of old-time fiddling. And more recently we find Lennox often is joined by his youngest daughter, Gail, who is following in his footsteps as a talented singer.

In 1961, because of concern by some local citizens about a show taking place in St. Mary’s School on a Sunday, Lennox decided to move the whole shebang to his newly built Shamrock Lounge. Since then the fame of his Saint Patrick’s Day shows has spread all across Canada and throughout Ireland. The annual pilgrimage to Quyon from distant points for the March 17th celebration grows every year. At the same time, Pontiac singers, dancers, and musicians who got their start under Lennox Gavan’s gentle encouragement in the Shamrock Lounge carry the musical message of Pontiac’s heritage far and wide around the world.