This article is about the Irish rebel band. For similar sounding terms, see Wolf tone (disambiguation). For the revolutionary leader and leader of the 1798 rebellion which the band is named after, see Wolfe Tone.
The origins of the group date back to August 1963, where three neighbouring children from the Dublin suburb of Inchicore, Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle, and Liam Courtney, had been musical friends from childhood. 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.[3]
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.[4]
2001–present
The Wolfe Tones continued to tour as a three-piece band.[5]
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.[7]
On 23 August 2024, the band released a final single, Goodbye to All Our Friends.[8]
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.[9][10]
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[who?].
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.[11]
In 2002, after an allegedly orchestrated e-mail campaign by fans to "try and mess it up"[12][13] 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.[14] The BBC hosts an artist's page for the band that includes excerpts of their songs.[15]
