Davie Furey has released “Donegal/The Swallow’s Tail,” his first single of 2026.
The track grew out of Furey’s long-running creative friendship with Gerry Adams, the former Sinn Féin president and activist. It also features Adams’ first musical appearance, with excerpts from his Irish-language poem “Tir Chonaill Thuaith” read by Adams throughout the song.
Furey began work on the piece after Adams sent him the poem. He later developed the song with fiddle player Kane O’Rourke, while Martin Quinn produced it at Jam Studios.
Furey provides lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar and bodhrán. The recording also features Mike McGoldrick of the Mark Knopfler Band on flute, Éanna Ó Cróinin on uilleann pipes, O’Rourke on fiddle and whistle, and Quinn on acoustic guitar and keys.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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