Derek Warfield is one of the great Irish ballad singers but he’s also much more – a founding member and long-serving front man of the legendary Wolfe Tones, a charismatic all-round performer, a historian, retriever and writer of songs and a man who cares passionately for the Irish song tradition.

Derek, the eldest of four children was born in Inchicore, in Dublin in 1943. He was educated at Synge Street C.B.S. and was apprenticed as a tailor, only to find the lure of a musical career irresistible.

His great love and appreciation of all things musical was also influenced and nurtured by his grandparents.

From he was knee-high to a grasshopper, his mother’s parents Paddy and Anne Byrne Cunningham passed on songs and ballads. He has since recorded them and they’re still very much part of the Warfield repertoire.

His father’s mother, Catherine McDonough Warfield, gave him a mandolin, and he got lessons on the instrument from his father. All of Derek’s grandparents shared a common Irish patriotic spirit that he eagerly sought to be part of and understand.

So it was from this background that Derek was gifted a passion and respect for Irish music and song. And he’s brought that with him through the years, and now hopes to pass it on anew through his work with his band, the Young Wolfe Tones

Every Thursday Part of the Gleneagle Hotel Summer Cabaret series

Contact the INEC box office for further information on 064-6671555 or email info@inec.ie