Known to many as one of Canada’s favorite Irish punk bands, the Mahones was birthed after a long night of drinking in Kingston’s Toucan Pub in 1990 between founding members Dublin-born frontman Finny McConnell and Andrew Brown.
And now the Canadian paddy-punk rockers – on a 20th anniversary world tour to promote their newest album “The Black Irish Album” – will be coming back to Kingston on June 17th to play The Mansion with openers ‘Continental’.
After the release of their debut album, “Draggin’ the Days” in 1994, the band has spent twenty years playing to hyped up crowds across North America and all over Europe, supporting their many albums which have produced such popular songs as “100 Bucks”, “Rise Again”, “Take No Prisoners”, “Paint the Town Red”, and many more.
The band wrote a song called Celtic Pride for the 1996 film of the same name, which featured fellow Kingstonian Dan Akroyd. They have also collaborated with Johnny Fay and Gord Sinclair of the Tragically Hip, who co-produced and appeared on the 1999 album, The Hellfire Club Sessions.
The band continues to be led by Singer/Guitarist Finny McConnell, who rocks the stage with wife Katie McConnell on accordion, Dominic “The Bomb’ Whelan on drums, Sean Ryan on bass, and Sean Winter on banjo, mandolin and harmonica.
They have shared the stage with musicians ranging from fellow Irish rockers The Pogues, Flogging Molly, and the Dropkick Murphys, to legends like Billy Bragg, Sinead O’Connor and Van Morrison – and The Mahones continue to take part in many music festivals.
