He was born in Castletownbere, County Cork on 20 September 1946, began playing accordion at the age of three, and began composing at the age of nine.
His brothers Richard and Michael (died 1996) likewise played accordion, while his brother John, born in 1933, played fiddle.
[1] He died on 8 February 2014, in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland.
[3] The following tunes have been credited as compositions by Finbarr Dwyer in commercial recordings by a variety of Irish traditional musicians: There are more tunes that have been credited to Finbarr Dwyer, but have either not been commercially recorded by other musicians or have only been credited to him according to less reliable sources.
Some of the Outlet releases listed below may in fact be reissues or compilations of each other's material.