The Fureys rank among Ireland's most influential traditional bands. Brothers Finbar, who handled lead vocals while performing on uillean pipes, and Eddie assembled the lineup in 1974; younger siblings Paul and George completed the roster, enabling the ensemble to tour across the globe. Among their numerous successes were the tracks "When You Were Sweet Sixteen," "I Will Love You Every Time," "Leaving Nancy," "Tara Hill," "Red Rose Cafe," "Lonesome Boatman," and "Green Fields of France." As Shaun Dale of Cosmik.Com observed, "(The Fureys) distinguish themselves from the hardcore trad groups with a willingness to attack an updated songbook that draws from British and American pop, as well as their own deep Irish roots."
Ballyfermot served as the setting where the Fureys grew up absorbing musical abilities directly from their parents. Their father Tom, who earned his living as a horse dealer, performed on fiddle and uillean pipes, while their mother played melodeon and five-stringed banjo. The band developed from an earlier duo of Finbar and Eddie that had already joined their father for casual sessions at Dublin's O'Donoghue's Bar beginning in 1958. At the 1961 Rose of Tralee International Festival the pair swept the principal competition along with the pub and street categories. After moving to Scotland in 1966 the duo established a steady presence in folk clubs, colleges, and universities across Great Britain and Europe.
Their first recording appeared in 1968 on the Waverley label with the album I Know Where I'm Going, where they supplied vocals and instrumentation behind singer/guitarist Paddie Bell, formerly of the Corries. That same year the brothers released their own debut album on Transatlantic Records; despite mounting recognition in England and placement on a leading folk imprint of the era, neither that record nor its 1969 successor The Lonesome Boatman registered strongly there. Further difficulties arose in the early 1970s when the Irish folk community largely shunned them over their sonic choices, particularly Finbar's virtuosic uillean pipes paired with the contemporary textures of guitar and vocals, which clashed with prevailing traditionalist preferences.
Their initial major opportunity arrived in 1969 with an invitation to open the Clancy Brothers' United States tour. The brothers contributed uncredited vocals and playing to the Clancy Brothers' Christmas album, then supplied further work on the 1970 release Flowers in the Valley. By year's end Finbar and Eddie had resumed independent activity. British radio figure John Peel provided substantial momentum in 1972 by designating the Furey brothers act of the year for their distinctive blend of uillean pipes, guitar, and vocals. They returned to recording on Dawn, the progressive/folk subsidiary of Pye Records, where the 1972 albums The Dawning of the Day and Four Green Fields earned favorable responses from existing listeners yet failed to broaden their reach. Meanwhile the next brother, Paul, had joined the Buskers alongside guitarist/singer Davey Arthur, a longtime family acquaintance, and Brendan Leeson; that group debuted on record with the 1973 album The Life of a Man.
Youngest brother George Furey, previously active alongside his father, soon entered the Buskers, who issued a second album on the Hawk label the following year. Throughout the mid-1970s assorted groupings of the Furey family intersected at folk festivals while Eddie and Finbar maintained their joint performances until releasing The Farewell Album in 1976. That double-LP package contained a live second disc showcasing all four Furey brothers together with Davey Arthur. In 1977 the four siblings and Arthur formalized their partnership under the name Tam Linn; a strong showing at the Cambridge Folk Festival led to the configuration known as the Furey Brothers & Davey Arthur, which finally expanded their international profile. Signed to Polydor, they delivered the albums Emigrant and Morning on a Distant Shore in rapid succession that same year.
By 1979 they had completed a third album, The Green Fields of France, whose title track reached number one in Ireland. Two years afterward the single "When You Were Sixteen" achieved international Top Ten status, followed two years later by the U.K. Top 20 album Golden Days. Finbar Furey issued his debut solo album in 1990, and Davey Arthur departed in 1992. Finbar exited the group two years later to concentrate on solo endeavors that later included acting, notably a role in Martin Scorsese's 2002 film The Gangs of New York. Tragedy struck the same year when Paul Furey died at age 54. Davey Arthur returned for the 2003 anniversary tour without Finbar, after which the lineup featuring Arthur resumed touring and recording. In various incarnations the Fureys have continued as a prominent presence in Irish and Celtic music well into the twenty-first century.
