The Fureys

Biography

The Fureys are an Irish folk band who originally formed in 1974. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin.
Brothers Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George Furey are of Irish Traveller heritage. Two of the band's singles have been number one hits in Ireland, and two of their albums charted in the United Kingdom. In collaborations with Davey Arthur, they have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.

Background

Prior to the band's formation, two of the brothers toured as a duo, known simply by their names as Eddie and Finbar Furey. For a while in 1969–1970, the duo performed with the Clancy Brothers and appeared on two of the Irish folk group's albums. The second of these albums contained two songs composed by the Fureys, "Flowers in the Valley" and "Jennifer Gentle". Meanwhile, their youngest brother Paul Furey had, together with Davey Arthur and Brendan Leeson, formed a band called the Buskers. Eddie and Finbar and the Buskers appeared together in Germany at the "Irish Folk Festival" in 1974, where they performed as the Furey Brothers. The Buskers, now with the addition of George Furey, appeared there again a year later as the Furey Family, when they were joined by their father Ted, a renowned traditional fiddler, who was 73 at that time. Ted Furey had recorded a solo fiddle album, Toss the Feathers, which was released by the Outlet label in 1967.
In 1969, they released their debut album The Lonesome Boatman. It is best known for its title track which is played hauntingly on a tin whistle, as well as its version of the traditional ballad "Carnlough Bay". The song has featured at football matches, most notably performed by fans of Glasgow team Celtic FC. In 2017, Dropkick Murphys released a cover of "The Lonesome Boatman" on their album 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory.

Band

Finbar, Eddie, and Paul Furey formed a folk group called Tam Linn in 1976 with Davey Arthur. When their brother George joined them later that year, the band changed their name to the Furey Brothers and Davey Arthur. They eventually simplified their name to the Fureys and Davey Arthur (and just the Fureys when Arthur did not perform with them). The band started out playing traditional Irish folk music, but quickly changed their sound, leaving the folk music behind, and turned to mainstream easy-listening songs and ballads.
In 1981 the Fureys released their most successful single, "When You Were Sweet Sixteen", which became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart and No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart. "The Green Fields of France" (a title commonly but incorrectly given to Eric Bogle's "No Man's Land") also gave them an Irish No. 1, remaining in the single charts for twenty-eight weeks. They also had two Top 40 British albums called Golden Days and At the End of the Day.
Other notable songs include "Gallipoli", "The Red Rose Cafe", and "Steal Away". As of October 24, 2019, the band were still recording and touring. In 2018, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary.
Finbar left the band to begin his own solo career in 1996, with Eddie, George, and Davey Arthur continuing some touring in Ireland, the UK and the European continent. Paul Furey died suddenly in June 2002.
All four of the brothers married and had children. Finbar's son, Martin Furey, is a folk singer and musician with The High Kings. His daughter, Áine Furey is an Irish singer. George's son Anthony is the singer with the Young Folk. Eddie's daughter Sarah-Jane is a streamer in the video gaming industry.

Eddie and Finbar Furey

Finbar and Eddie Furey, Transatlantic, 1968
I Know Where I'm Going, Waverley, 1968, (with Paddie Bell)
The Lonesome Boatman, Transatlantic, 1969
The Dawning of the Day, Dawn, 1972
Four Green Fields, Pläne, 1972
Irish Pipe Music: Hornpipes, Airs and Reels, Nonesuch, 1974
I Live Not Where I Love, Intercord, 1975
A Dream in My Hand, Intercord, 1976
The Farewell Album, Intercord, 1976
The Town Is Not Their Own, HPE, 1981
Finbar and Eddie Furey, Harp, 1982

The Clancy Brothers (with Finbar and Eddie Furey)

Christmas, Columbia, 1969
Flowers in the Valley, Columbia, 1970

Finbar Furey

Traditional Irish Pipe Music, Transatlantic, 1969
The Irish Pipes of Finbar Furey, Nonesuch, 1972
Prince of Pipers, Intercord, 1974
Peace & Enjoyment, Love & Pleasure, Greentrax, 1987 (with Brian McNeill and Blackeyed Biddy)
Love Letters, BMG, 1990
The Wind and the Rain, Nora, 1997
The Finbar Furey Songbook, 2003 (by Pauric Mather)
Chasing Moonlight: Love Songs of Ireland, Hybrid, 2003
New York Girls, Rough Diamond, 2003, (EP)
The Last Great Lovesong, Pinorekk, 2014

Áine Furey

Sweetest Summer Rain, Celtic Connections, 1999
Cross My Palm, Cosmic Trigger Records, 2008

The Buskers

Life of a Man, Rubber Records, 1973
The Buskers, Hawk, 1974

The Fureys and Bob Stewart

Tomorrow We Part, Crescent, 1976
Aran: Celtic Gypsy Music, 1999

The Fureys and Davey Arthur

Emigrant, Polydor, 1977
Morning on a Distant Shore, Polydor, 1977
Banshee, Dolby, 1978
The Green Fields of France, Banshee, 1979
The Sound of the Fureys and Davey Arthur, Polydor, 1980
When You Were Sweet Sixteen, Banshee, 1982
Steal Away, Banshee, 1983
In Concert, RTÉ, 1983
Golden Days, K-Tel, 1984
At The End of the Day, K-Tel, 1985
The First Leaves of Autumn, 1986
Red Rose Café/Irish Eyes/Sitting Alone, 1987,(EP)
Dublin Songs, 1988
Poor Man's Dream, 1988
The Scattering, 1988
Alcoholidays
The Best of the Fureys and Davey Arthur, 1993

The Fureys

Wind of Change, Shanachie, 1992
Claddagh Road, 1994
May We All Someday Meet Again, 1996
Twenty One Years On, 1999
The Essential Fureys, 2001
The Fureys Sing Chaplin, 2001
My Father's House, 2003
I Will Love You, 2003
25th Anniversary Collection, 2003
My Father's House, 2005
The Times They Are a Changing, 2014
40 Years.....to be continued, 2018