The Wolfe Tones

History

1963–1964: Formation

The origins of the group date back to August 1963, where Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle, and Liam Courtney had been neighbours as children in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore. In August 1964, Brian's brother Derek Warfield joined the band, and in November 1964 Tommy Byrne replaced Courtney, creating the band's most recognizable line-up, which would last for nearly 37 years until January 2001.

1964–2001

In 1995, Derek Warfield released a solo studio album entitled Legacy as he was still eligible to record under his own name. With Derek on vocals and mandolin, the music on this album was performed by a new band, although he was still touring with the Wolfe Tones. Derek's solo releases continued annually until 2006.

2001–present

The Wolfe Tones continued to tour as a three-piece band.

In 2022–2024, the band played shows in the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, the INEC Ireland, Broadway (Manhattan) in New York, the Atheneum Chicago and Electric Picnic.

However, they announced their retirement in 2023, with a 60th-anniversary tour to conclude their career. As well as gigs in the US, the band played concerts at Galway Airport, Castlebar, Co. Mayo and in the 3Arena, with the band's advertised final gig taking place in Dublin on 13 October 2024.

On 23 August 2024, the band released a final single, Goodbye to All Our Friends.

Despite the 3Arena show being advertised as the bands final gig, the band announced two shows at Thomond Park in Limerick for July 2025, as well as a gig in Liverpool. The final concert took place at Thomond Park on 13 July, 2025.

In December 2025, the band ended their retirement by announcing two shows in July 2026 in the 3Arena. In January 2026, the band announced another show taking place on 25 June, at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow. This was followed by shows in August at the Gleneagle Arena, Killarney and the SSE Arena in Belfast in August.

Notable works

The song "Irish Eyes" was written by Brian Warfield as a paean for his mother Kathleen who died of cancer the year prior to its release. A song about emigration to London entitled "My Heart is in Ireland" became a number 2 hit for the band. The song “*Celtic Symphony”*was written by Warfield in 1987 for the centenary of Celtic Football Club. Other songs written by the group include "Joe McDonnell", a song about the life and death of the Provisional IRA member Joe McDonnell, who was the fifth person to die on the 1981 Hunger Strike; and "The Protestant Men", a song about notable Protestant Irish nationalists. The band also covered "The Streets of New York", written by Liam Reilly from Bagatelle who was inspired by stories of the Tones' friendship with the NYPD.

Footballer James McClean attracted criticism when he tweeted that he listened to their rendition of “The Broad Black Brimmer” before a match, a song in which a son learns of how his father was killed in fighting for the IRA. He was told by club manager Martin O'Neill to refrain from using Twitter.

In 2002, after an allegedly orchestrated e-mail campaign by fans to "try and mess it up" their rendition of "A Nation Once Again" by Thomas Osborne Davis was voted the number one song of all time in a BBC World Service poll. The BBC hosts an artist's page for the band that includes excerpts of their songs.

The band's 1982 hit “Admiral William Brown” pays homage to the Irish-born Argentine sailor William Brown.

In January 2020, the band's version of "Come Out Ye Black and Tans" reached No. 1 on the Ireland and UK iTunes charts, following criticism of the Irish government's planned commemoration of the RIC, as part of its 'Decade of Commemoration'. As a result of this, on 10 January, the song entered the Irish Singles Chart at No. 33 and also debuted at No. 1 in the Scottish Singles Chart.

Personnel

Members

;Current members

• Noel Nagle – tin whistle, low whistle, uileann pipes, vocals (1963–present)
• Brian Warfield – banjo, whistle, harp, piano, guitars, bodhran, vocals (1963–present)
• Tommy Byrne – guitars, vocals (1964–present) ;Former members
• Liam Courtney – guitars, vocals (1963–1964)
• Derek Warfield – mandolin, vocals (1964–2001)

Lineups

Discography

Main article: The Wolfe Tones discography

;Studio albums

• The Foggy Dew (1965)
• Up the Rebels (1966)
• The Rights of Man (1968)
• Rifles of the I.R.A. (1970)
• Let the People Sing (1972)
• 'Till Ireland a Nation (1974)
• Irish to the Core (1976)
• Across the Broad Atlantic (1976)
• Belt of the Celts (1978)
• Spirit of the Nation (1981)
• As Gaeilge (1982)
• A Sense of Freedom (1983)
• Profile (1985)
• Sing Out for Ireland (1987)
• 25th Anniversary (1989)
• You'll Never Beat the Irish (2001)
• The Troubles (2004)
• Child of Destiny (2011)
• The Dublin Rebellion 1916 (2016)

References

References

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9. (2024-06-14). "Wolfe Tones legend Brian Warfield writes emotional 'goodbye song' for final show".
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11. (2024-11-05). "On the Waterfront presents The Wolfe as Friday Headliner for 2025".
12. O’Donoghue, Denise. (2025-07-13). "'True rebels, true patriots': Wolfe Tones play final ever gig at Thomond Park, Limerick".
13. (9 December 2025). "Wolfe Tones end retirement ‘due to demand’ as Kneecap confirmed as first All Together Now headliner". Journal.
14. (2026-01-23). "The Wolfe Tones announce huge Glasgow show".
15. Roy, David. (2026-01-30). "‘We still have the fire’ - No sign of retirement for The Wolfe Tones as they announce yet more Irish dates".
16. . (27 February 2013). ["James McClean closes Twitter account after Wolfe Tones song row"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21600688). *BBC News*.
17. Paterson, Michael. (14 December 2002). "Late surge for Irish anthem in BBC poll".
18. Vivek Chaudhary, chief sports correspondent. (3 December 2003). "Gaelic footballer's fans try to topple Jonny Wilkinson by rigging sport poll | Media".
19. (20 December 2002). "BBC.co.uk". BBC News.
20. "Wolfe Tones - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music".
21. (10 January 2020). "Come Out Ye Black And Tans is number 1 in Irish and UK iTunes charts". [[The Irish Times]].
22. (10 January 2020). "Justin Bieber scores the highest new entry on the Official Irish Singles Chart with Yummy". [[Official Charts Company]].
23. (10 January 2020). "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". [[Official Charts Company]].