In August 1963, where three neighbouring children from the Dublin suburb of Inchicore, brothers Brian and Derek Warfield and Noel Nagle had been musical friends. They were later joined by Tommy Byrne whom they met when playing at an open air festival in Elphin, County Roscommon in 1964.This subsequently led to the three friends playing at Fleadh Cheoil and music festivals around Ireland.
In 1989, band leader, Derek Warfield, signed a contract signing rights to an American distributor. The contents of this contract were apparently misrepresented to the other members of the band, resulting in a clause that prevented them from recording. Unable to reverse this agreement, they continued to tour albeit without any new material.
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 in fact touring with The Wolfe Tones. Derek’s solo releases continued on bi-annually.
In 2001, after a show played in Limerick, Derek Warfield departed the band under circumstances that remain unknown to this day. Calling themselves “Brian Warfield, Tommy Byrne and Noel Nagle formally of The Wolfe Tones” the three would later go on to release “You’ll Never Beat the Irish”.