Patrick Brian Warfield (born 2 April 1946, Holles Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

) is the vocalist,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, harp and

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

player and lead songwriter with long-standing Irish band The Wolfe Tones. Brian introduces many of the songs at the Wolfe Tones live concerts and is a keen historian.

Career

Warfield has written many songs for the Wolfe Tones, notably "The Helicopter Song", "Irish Eyes" and "My Heart is in Ireland". "Let the People Sing", was written in dedication to those Irish ballad singers who were banned from singing Irish songs. It has been performed by many Celtic and Irish Rebel bands, including Celtic band Charlie and the Bhoys. The song is popular among fans of Celtic F.C. and a version "Let The People Sing" performed by The Malleys, omitting the second verse, is played at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

on match days. Warfield's affiliation with Celtic Football Club led to him being asked to write a song for the Club to celebrate its 100th Anniversary. As a result, '' Celtic Symphony'' was composed; a song popular with many Celtic fans, but controversial due to its chorus. The chorus which features the words "ooh, ah, up the RA" was often seen as a pro-IRA stance, but according to its writer, Brian Warfield, these words were included in the balladic tradition of writing what is observed at the time. As a songwriter, Warfield's writing is typically a social commentary on Ireland and its issues. For the 2012 album, Child of Destiny, Warfield composed 'Swing A Banker', which is a comical ballad referring to Irish bankers as chickens. The music video was recorded outside the

Treasury Building A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be State ownership, state or royal property, churc ...

. He is currently working on a musical about the famine. He continues to tour with The Wolfe Tones with Tommy Byrne and Noel Nagle, although it was announced they will cease touring after their 50th Anniversary Tour in November 2014.

Personal life

Brian Warfield is married to June Warfield (née Radburn) and has four children. He resides near

Blessington Blessington, historically known as Ballycomeen (, from the Irish surname ''Ó Coimín''), is a town on the River Liffey in County Wicklow, Ireland, near the border with County Kildare. It is around 25 km south-west of Dublin, and is situ ...

, County Wicklow. He has not spoken with his brother Derek Warfield since Derek left the Wolfe Tones in 2001.

References

Irish banjoists Irish folk musicians Irish songwriters Living people 1946 births The Wolfe Tones members {{Ireland-singer-stub