ONE of Ireland’s all-time most acclaimed and influential bands, The Fureys, are heading for New Brighton's Floral Pavilion for a special St Patrick's Day celebration.

Fureys classics such as I Will Love You, When You Were Sweet 16, Red Rose Café, Leaving Nancy, The Old Man, From Clare to Here, Her Father didn’t like me anyway and The Green Fields of France have become the soundtrack to the lives of fans all over the world.

Originally formed in 1974. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin.

The oldest of the brothers, Eddie Furey left home in 1966 and travelled to Scotland at the time of the great folk revival where with his brother Finbar, he met and shared accommodation with then unknown folk singers Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty, Tam Harvey and Alex Campbell, now all famous in their own right. In 1969 Eddie and Finbar were the special guests for the Clancy Brothers throughout the USA and Canada.

In 1972, Gerry Rafferty wrote ‘Her Father Didn’t Like Me Anyway’ for Eddie. BBC Radio 1 presenter, the late John Peel made it his single of the year. In 1973, they moved to mainland Europe where they toured for a number of years, building up a huge following particularly in Germany releasing many LPs.

By 1976, George, Paul, Davey Arthur and Brendan Leeson were playing with their own band, the Buskers in Denmark. Eddie and Finbar, while touring in Germany were involved in a road accident. When their brothers got news of the accident, they immediately travelled to Germany to be with them. They then decided that they should all be playing together and this was the start of The Fureys & Davey Arthur.

The band experienced UK chart success with songs such as I Will Love You and When You Were Sweet Sixteen, which in turn helped bring Irish folk and traditional music to a completely new audience. The band made their Top of the Pops debut in 1981.

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 had a stroke in March 2014 which he is still recovering from. However, George and Eddie have continued to delight audiences on their tours and releasing CDs.

The Fureys are responsible for some of the most stirring music ever to capture the public imagination. Their folk based music has received standing ovations in some of the biggest concert halls of the world and they credit their musical ability to their parents, Ted and Nora, who were well known musicians themselves. They encouraged their sons to play music from a very early age and there was live traditional music in their house almost nightly.

The Fureys will be performing all of their best loved songs in the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton on St Patrick’s Day Sunday, March 17 at 7:30pm.

Tickets from floralpavilion.com