Finbar Furey

Finbar Furey

Finbar Furey is an Irish folk musician, singer-songwriter, actor and multi-instrumentalist from Ireland, born in 1946. He is best known for his work on the uilleann pipes and is regarded as one of the leading players of that instrument.

Early family acts and band work

He is the son of fiddler Ted Furey and the brother of Eddie Furey, Paul Furey and George Furey. The family performs as The Furey Family, and the brothers record as The Fureys. Finbar and Eddie Furey also perform together as Finbar & Eddie Furey. In 1969, the pair begin touring as backing musicians for The Clancy Brothers.

In 1974, The Fureys form in Ballyfermot, Dublin, where the brothers grow up. In 1976, the four Furey brothers and family friend Davey Arthur form The Fureys & Davey Arthur. Finbar later spends nearly three decades as front man for The Fureys before leaving to pursue solo work.

Solo career

From 1997, Furey follows a solo path as a singer-songwriter, and also works as a producer and writer. He presents a one-man show as part of this period of his career.

In 2011, he releases Colours on Dolphin Music, with guest appearances from Mary Black and Shayne Ward. The album is later issued in North America on Valley Entertainment. In 2013, he appears on the Irish television programme The Hit and records the single The Last Great Love Song, which reaches number one in the Irish charts.