The Wolfe Tones

The Wolfe Tones are a folk and Celtic group from Dublin, Ireland, active since 1963. They perform Irish rebel music and use elements of Irish traditional music in their songs. The group takes its name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, the Irish nationalist leader associated with the 1798 rebellion, and the name also refers to a wolf tone, the unwanted sound that can affect string instruments.

History

The group forms in Inchicore, a working-class suburb of Dublin, when brothers Brian and Derek Warfield and their friend Noel Nagle begin playing together at weekend fleadhs and music festivals. Brian and Noel study tin whistle at the Pipers Club in Thomas Street, Dublin, while Derek plays mandolin because his father plays it. Tommy Byrne joins soon after. In 1963 the four travel from Dublin to Kerry for a Fleadh Ceoil, and later that year they choose the name Wolfe Tones while waiting in a pub in Kilrush, County Clare before crossing the Shannon to play in Ballybunnion, County Kerry.

Members

The group includes Noel Nagle, Brian Warfield and Derek Warfield. Derek Warfield leaves in 2002 to pursue a solo career, while the remaining group continues to perform and record. The group’s activity continues into the present, with performances limited to selected venues rather than constant touring.

Songwriting and repertoire

The Wolfe Tones write several well-known songs, including Celtic Symphony, written by Brian Warfield in 1987 for the centenary of Celtic Football Club. The song is later covered by many bands. Another notable song is Joe McDonnell, about the IRA volunteer who dies during the 1981 hunger strike, and which is described as one of the group’s most popular stage songs. Their song A Nation Once Again is voted the best world music song of all time in an online BBC poll in 2002.

Name and identity

The group’s name connects Irish republican history and instrumental terminology. It honours Wolfe Tone, whose name is central to Irish nationalism, and also refers to the wolf tone effect in stringed instruments. This historical symbolism remains a defining part of the group’s identity.