Knights of Columbus Hall Filled with “Wolfe Tones”

Ireland’s legendary band “The Wolfe Tones,” landed on Long Island’s shores this past Thursday and played to an adoring crowd at the Knights of Columbus in Mineola.

Over 400 revelers filled the hall to capacity to hear band members Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne play their biggest hits like “The Streets of New York,”  “Boston Rose,” “Come Out Ye Black and Tans,” and “The Foggy Dew.”

Fans came from all over the New York  area to see the show and from across many generations; the old and the young, native-born Irish and first, second, and third generation Irish-Americans were all represented. Many of the group’s younger base of fans were on hand to enjoy the traditional Irish folk music.

“What a fantastic night playing in front of wonderful people. What more can you ask” Warfield, the group’s founding member and mandolin player, said.  “It’s lovely to see the young people.  It’s the same back home in Ireland.  It’s great to see that and it’s important to see that.  That’s the future of our story.”

Their name, The Wolfe Tones, pays homage to Theobald Wolfe Tone, an 18th century Irish nationalist who slit his own throat rather than be hung by the British forces occupying Ireland at the time. 

“They’re the best band to ever come from Ireland,” Courtney O’Keefe, 22, said, adding that all the pride on display as well as the multi-generations of attendees made her feel as if she were home among family.

Matt Costello, a 23 year old Floral Park fan was seeing The Wolfe Tones for the second time, the first time when he was too young to remember. “My dad is from Galway and my mom is from out east,” he said. “As long as I can remember, The Wolfe Tones were always playing at my house.”

The night was not limited to the headliners as Jacinta O’Mahoney and Billy Coleman of “Two’s Too Many,” who play at the Recovery Room twice a month and who are Irish immigrants.

“It’s an honor to open for them” Coleman said. “I mean I grew up and The Wolfe Tones were one of the group that I listened to at the times.  All their songs were about Irish history and Irish culture.”

“I heard it from parents listening to it in the kitchen” O’Mahoney said.

The Wolfe Tones are quite possibly the ultimate road band, touring for the past 48 years playing to audiences all over the world, following a long tradition of troubadours and balladry stretching over the history of Ireland.

The group recently returned from Argentina were they were awarded an honor by the government for their contribution to the arts.

The band was booked by Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Carroll, owner of . O’Carroll contacted a friend back home in Ireland who knew the band to see if they would be interested in playing in Mineola. Together with Knights of Columbus member and local judge John O’Shea, O’Carroll put the show together, which also included a series of Irish step dancing performances.

“I wanted to do something for the community,” O’Carroll said.