Finbar Feargal Furey (born 28 September 1946) is a multi-instrumental Irish folk musician, best known for the band he formed with his brothers,

The Fureys The Fureys are an Irish folk band 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 ...

. The Fureys were formed in

Ballyfermot Ballyfermot () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park. It is bordered by Chapelizod on the north, by Bluebell, Dublin, Bluebell on the south, by Inchicore on the east, ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, where they grew up.

Early life

Finbar Furey was born on 28 September 1946 in

, Dublin. Finbar's well-known musician father, Ted started him on the

Uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...

while he was very young. By his teens, he had won three All Ireland Medals, The Oireachtas, and many Feisanna. He was the only piper to win the All Ireland, the Oireachtas medal and the four province titles in the same year. Finbar is an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

Career

Finbar popularized the pipes worldwide while on tour with his brother Eddie in the 1960s. In 1969, Finbar and Eddie began touring as backup musicians for the influential Irish folk group

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularisi ...

. Finbar played the pipes, as well as the

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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

with the group live, on television, and on recordings. The Furey brothers left the group the following year and began performing as a duo again. Finbar and Eddie were awarded Single of the Year by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

in 1972. When the younger brothers Paul and George joined the band, several years later,

enjoyed hits including '' When You Were Sweet Sixteen'', ''Tara Hill'', '' Green Fields of France'', ''Red Rose Café,'' and '' The Lonesome Boatman''. In Britain, they became one of the first Irish folk groups to play on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

. In 1997, after nearly thirty years as

' front man, Finbar decided the time was right to follow his own path as a singer songwriter. He decided to step aside and pursue his solo career, to present his definitive

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

, and to explore new pastures as a singer, producer, and writer. In the early 2000s, Finbar began an acting career. His first appearance was in the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

film ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American-Italian epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1928 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The fil ...

''. He has also appeared in 2004's ''

Adam & Paul ''Adam & Paul'' is a 2004 Irish buddy comedy drama film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Tom Murphy and Mark O'Halloran. It follows a day in the life of two Dublin drug addicts, Adam and Paul, as they wander around Dublin trying to sc ...

'', 2007's ''

Strength and Honour ''Strength and Honour'' is a 2008 Irish sports drama film written, produced and directed by Mark Mahon (director), Mark Mahon. It was shot in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. Filming took place in the city and county including Kinsale, Rochestown, ...

'', 2010s short ''Paris Sexy'', and the

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added chan ...

series '' Love/Hate''. In 2011 he released the album ''Colours'' on

Dolphin Music Dolphin Music was an online retailer selling a vast array of musical instruments and recording equipment online and is currently owned by S&T Audio. It first began in Liverpool, England in 1999. History Robert Williams (11 September 1979 &mda ...

. The album, which featured guest performances from

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

and

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

, was released in North America in 2012 on the

Valley Entertainment Valley Entertainment is an American independent record label and music distributor based in New York City, United States. The company was founded in 1994 by Barney Cohen and Jon Birge. In 2001, it acquired the prestigious back catalogue of space, ...

record label. In August 2013, Furey appeared on the Irish television show '' The Hit''. He recorded a single pitched by a songwriter, Gerry Fleming, "The Last Great Love Song", which charted at number one in the Irish charts, against Mundy's song "Jigsaw Man" written by Mark Walsh, which charted at number five. The song was performed again with the

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is a professional radio orchestra in Ireland and is part of RTÉ, the national broadcaster. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has grown from a small studio-bas ...

in the final and came first place in the public vote, earning the title "The Ultimate Hit". In 2023, he released the album "Moments in Time" including a collection of his own compositions along with traditional songs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furey, Finbar 1946 births Living people Musicians from Dublin (city) Irish male uilleann pipers Transatlantic Records artists 20th-century Irish uilleann pipers 21st-century Irish uilleann pipers 21st-century Irish male musicians 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music