THE Fureys will perform their last ever north west concerts as part of their Farewell Tour in An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny on Friday, January 30 and the Millennium Forum, Derry on Thursday, May 21.
One of Ireland’s most acclaimed and influential folk and traditional bands, The Fureys have created timeless classics such as ‘I Will Love You’, ‘When You Were Sweet 16’, ‘Red Rose Café’, and ‘The Green Fields of France’.
Their music has been the soundtrack to the lives of fans across the globe, inspiring generations of musicians along the way.
Eddie Furey recalls how “many musicians have told us we influenced them after hearing a record from their parents or grandparents’ collection”.
Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics has credited Eddie with teaching him his first chords on the guitar while still a teenager.
Eddie would return the compliment by joining Dave on stage in Paris for a jam during the latter’s wedding to Bananarama’s Siobhan Fahey.
Inevitably changes have occurred over the years.
Their brother Paul died suddenly in June 2002, Finbar left the band in December 1996 and Davey got a stroke in March 2014 which he is still recovering from.
However, George and Eddie continued to delight audiences on their tours and releasing CDs.
In May 2026, the Fureys will come to an end.
Eddie and George say: “We will have very mixed emotions over the next number of months knowing our working lives as we have known them for so long will be coming to an end.
“We know we have been among the luckiest people on earth having a ‘job’ we love and enjoy, traveling the world to places we would never have been to, meeting people and making many friends, we would never have met.
“However, time catches up with us all and we will look to a new future from the middle of 2026 playing at the odd music session and seeing the younger Furey generation playing their music.
“Our manager Joe McCadden will also be retiring from the business after 56 years, 39 of them with us.”
