Biography

The Mahones are an Irish-born, Canadian Celtic punk band, influenced by the Celtic Rock revival of the late 1980's, pioneered by such bands as the Pogues and the Waterboys.

The band was formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1990 by Fintan “Finny” McConnell and Barry Williams, as a one-off band for a St. Patrick’s Day party.

The Mahones have released ten albums to date (Draggin’ The Days, Rise Again, The Hellfire Club Sessions, Here Comes Lucky, Paint The Town Red - The Best Of, Live At The Horseshoe, Take No Prisoners, The Irish Punk Collection, Whiskey Devils - A Tribute To The Mahones and The Black Irish Album), and one very rare cassette (Clear The Way). The Black Irish Album, The Mahones’ critically acclaimed 7th studio album, was released along with a tribute album in 2011, featuring 20 international bands covering Mahones’ songs.

The band’s cited influences included The Clash, The Pogues, The Who, The Waterboys and Hüsker Dü. The group’s lineup has changed a number of times, with McConnell and Williams as the main constant members. Pogues members Terry Woods and Phil Chevron joined the band on tour in 2003.

The Mahones have shared stages and toured around the world with legends such as The Dropkick Murphys, Stiff Little Fingers, Shane MacGowan and The Popes, Billy Bragg, Chuck Ragan, The UK Subs, Sick Of It All, The Defects, Agnositic Front, The Buzzcocks, D.O.A., Against Me, The Tragically Hip, The Damned, Suicidal Tendencies, The Prodigy, Gwar, Skunk Anansie, Tricky, Blue Rodeo, Steve Earle, The Alarm, Sinead O’Connor, The Street Dogs, Roger Miret and The Disasters, Flogging Molly, Spirit Of The West, The Dubliners, Christy Moore, The Band and Van Morrison. More recently, Scuffy Wallace of The Dropkick Murphys joined The Mahones onstage for a few shows as Tin Whistle player in Toronto and Montreal during a recent Dropkick Murphys Canadian tour.

Over the years, The Mahones’ music has appeared in several major International Hollywood film releases. Recently, their song “Paint The Town Red 2010” was featured in the climactic final fight scene of the 2 x Academy Award/ 2 x Golden Globe winning Mark Wahlberg/Christian Bale/Amy Adams film “The Fighter” (2010). The Mahones also co-wrote and recorded the title track for the Hollywood Pictures movie “Celtic Pride” (Wally High/The Mahones) featuring Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, and Dan Akroyd which was composed specifically for the film. The song 100 Bucks was also featured in the movie ” Dog Park “, featuring Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, as well as Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney from Kids in the Hall. The Mahones’ song ‘A Little Bit of Love’ is in the new film Ecstasy, based on Irvine Welsh’s (Trainspotting) critically acclaimed book.

In 1999, bassist Joe Chithalen died in Amsterdam shortly after a concert. He had accidentally ingested food containing peanuts, to which he was allergic. The Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Library, Joe’s M.I.L.L., was established in Kingston soon after by Wally High

Members

Current Members

• Finny McConnell - Lead Vocals, Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , Mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  , Songwriter
  Songwriter
  A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
  
  
• Dom "The Bomb" Whelan - Drums, Vocals
• Katie McConnell - Accordion
  Accordion
  The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
  
  , Vocals
• Sean Winter - Banjo
  Banjo
  In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
  
  , Mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  , Harmonica
  Harmonica
  The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
  
  , Vocals
• Sean "Riot" Ryan - Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , Vocals

Former Members

• "The" Barry Williams
• Andrew Brown
• Mauro Sepe
• Owen Warnica
• David Allen
• Kevan Williams
• Michael O'Grady
• Miranda Mulholland
  Miranda Mulholland
  -Biography:Mulholland is a member of Great Lake Swimmers , Belle Starr and The Rattlesnake Choir as well as the founder and lead singer for the The Roaring Girl Cabaret. She makes select appearances in the violin show Bowfire , and has played fiddle with Jim Cuddy, John Borra and Justin Rutledge,...
  
  
• Ger O'Sullivan
• Chris Ward
• Chris Scahill
• Chris Smirnios
• Ayron Mortley
• Ewen McIntosh
• Barry Williams
• Joe Chithalen
• Paddy Concannon

Studio albums

Year	Album
1993	Clear The Way
1994	Draggin' the Days
1996	Rise Again
1999	The Hellfire Club Sessions
2001	Here Comes Lucky
2003	Live at the Horseshoe
2006	Take No Prisoners
2010	The Black Irish

Compilations

Year	Album
2003	Paint the Town Red
2008	Irish Punk Collection

Singles

Year	Single	CAN AC	Album
1996	"100 Bucks"	45	Rise Again
1997	"Rise Again"	52
1999	"When It Comes Around"		The Hellfire Club Sessions
	"This Old Town"
2001	"One Last Shot"		Here Comes Lucky
2006	"A Little Bit of Love" (with Damhnait Doyle Damhnait Doyle Damhnait Doyle [DAV-net] is a Canadian pop singer. The phonetic spelling of her first name also serves as the title of her 2003 album. Her most recent album, Lights Down Low, is a collection of covers... )		Take No Prisoners