Perhaps there is a flute player in the Ceili band that can advise and mentor the youngster. Best situation would be to put a few flutes in the young man's hands and see what works. I think a good recommendation really depends on how "wee" the young man's hands are at this point.
I like the Somers flutes and the Copley flutes as well. I own and play flutes from both makers. They have both been too large for some small hands I have presented them too.
I have owned the Copley "small hands" flute and it is not much different from the normal Copley models which I also own. Only one hole is downsized which brings RH2 and RH3 slightly closer together. So a Copley may be still a stretch for the young man.
My Somers flute is surely sized for adult hands but it is the Pratten style flute. I have not owned the Rudall style though. So I don't know about that one.
For young, small handed players I usually try one of the Tony Dixon three piece delrin flutes (no, not the thin walled poly models) in their hands and see if they can handle that. That and perhaps the Walt Sweet flute have some of the friendliest hole layouts I've seen. While the Dixon may not be the best flute overall or a "flute for life" that a Copley may be, it is one flute I have had good luck starting small hand players out on. They will definitely out grow it eventually. But it is a much better purchase than one of those other flute-like-objects. We've seen too many folks take that route with the same inevitable and disappointing results. The Dixon is in comparison very playable. It does have a smallish embouchure hole (the current cut is better than older Dixons IMO). If a youngster can come to terms with the Dixon embouchure they will be able to play any other flute they move on to. The Dixon has smallish holes, and a rather friendly stretch as a result. It has a smallish bore and with the short foot it is lightweight as well which can matter to a young player. It is also kid friendly because it is delrin. You can play it in a hot tub if you like. They can take a lot of abuse. There's little that can harm it. Of course that's pretty much the same with other delrin flutes. So no worries. And they are relatively inexpensive, well less than $300 brand new most places. Second-hand examples can be real bargains. Once they can handle the Dixon with no stress on the hands then I would then try something like a Copley out.
If the child can't handle the Dixon I'd look for an F flute or maybe a Bb band flute - the appropriateness of those keys would depend on his Ceili band.
The old style M&E original polymer flute was also a decent starter flute for young hands but it is considerably heavier than the Dixon. It has a fairly friendly hole pattern. The M&E Rudall can be a real stretch for a young player's hands IMO. And my M&E Rudall, with the big rings, is the heaviest flute I own, might feel like weight lifting to a 10 year old..
And on another note, I started out on a $13 dollar Stella guitar.
It served me well. No complaints, no regrets. I learned everything I needed to learn on it. The blisters were a badge of honor and the callouses I developed on that guitar are still with me and doing their job a half century later.
Just my thoughts.
Feadoggie
I've proven who I am so many times, the magnetic strips worn thin.
