The Fureys

The Fureys are an Irish folk group formed in Dublin in the 1970s around brothers from the Furey family, who grew up in a household steeped in traditional music and street balladry. Alongside singer and guitarist Davey Arthur, they built a sound that combined traditional Irish instrumentation — uilleann pipes, banjo, and acoustic guitar — with tender, melodic ballads about love, loss, and war.

The group became internationally known through emotionally direct songs such as «When You Were Sweet Sixteen» and «The Green Fields of France», the latter a stark anti-war ballad that remains one of the most covered Irish folk songs of its era. Their style sits at the crossroads of traditional Irish folk and popular ballad singing, favouring warm harmonies and storytelling over instrumental virtuosity.

Over decades of touring and recording, The Fureys helped carry Irish folk music to audiences well beyond Ireland, influencing how the genre was received internationally in the late twentieth century. Their catalogue remains a staple of Irish folk radio and live sessions.