Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at the Helix in Dublin, Ireland, accompanying the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
Since the group's formation, Celtic Thunder has released twelve albums: Celtic Thunder, Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Celtic Thunder Christmas, Storm, Heritage, Voyage, Voyage II, Christmas Voices and Mythology as well as best-of collection Homeland, and twelve live performances on DVD, entitled Celtic Thunder: The Show, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Storm, Christmas, Heritage, Voyage, Voyage II, Live and Unplugged and Mythology, as well as a Christmas performance. In December 2009 Billboard magazine named Celtic Thunder the Top World Album Artist.
Celtic Thunder is known for its eclectic style with songs ranging from a soloist to an ensemble focus. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic effects via lighting and choreography as well as a stage set resembling an ancient stone pathway suggestive of those referenced in Celtic lore.
Members
The members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
Neil Byrne (born November 16, 1977): Music has always been a major part of Neil's life. Born into a musical family, Neil’s father has worked as a professional musician his entire life and his mother is a huge fan of all music. By the age of 5, Neil was gripped by rhythm, which instinctively lead him to drum on anything in front of him. He began learning the guitar when he was 7, hugely helped and encouraged by his father. Later in life a mutual friend approached Neil and asked him to play at a function for one of Ireland’s most renowned songwriters and producers, Phil Coulter. When Sharon Browne and Phil began working on production for Celtic Thunder he was invited to record backing vocals for the debut DVD, and subsequently play lead guitar player for the live show. Neil would have to say the most memorable and prestigious performance of his career to date was in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Since then he has toured America and Canada extensively with Celtic Thunder and most recently has joined the cast as the 6th leading vocalist with Celtic Thunder.
Paul Michael Byrom (born April 11, 1979) is from Dublin, Ireland. In addition to Celtic Thunder, he has also performed at major sporting events in Ireland and abroad, including singing at the All Ireland Finals in Dublin's Croke Park and at Heinz Field for a Pittsburgh Steelers game in the USA. He has also performed for Ireland's President, Mary McAleese, and for Emperor Akihito of Japan. Paul has released two albums: Velvet and I'll Be Home For Christmas. He left Celtic Thunder as of 2011 to pursue his solo career. Member from 2008-2011
George Donaldson (February 1, 1968- March 12, 2014) is the oldest member of the group and is a well-known balladeer, guitarist and flutist from Glasgow, Scotland. At Scotland's Celtic Park, Donaldson played to 65,000 fans at the opening match of the 2000-2001 season.
Keith Ronald Harkin, (born June 10, 1986), like Damian, is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He plays the guitar and has written one of the songs for Celtic Thunder: "Lauren and I". In 2008, a new solo album by Keith was rumoured to be in the working stages but has not yet been released as of mid 2009. Keith enjoys surfing and has written a song called Chasing Dreams that articulates his love for it. Keith has now recorded more original songs apart from Celtic Thunder, some titles include: Vanity, Don't Lose the Feeling, and What I Like.
Ryan John Kelly (born November 6, 1978) is from The Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He holds two degrees from the Queen's University Belfast, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and also a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting, qualifying Ryan to be a chartered accountant.
Damian Joseph McGinty, Jr. (born September 9, 1992) was the youngest member of the group for 4 years and is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He recorded the first Celtic Thunder album when he was only fourteen years old. It is rumoured that McGinty will begin work on a solo album in the next 6 months. He won his first singing contest at the age of five. He recorded the first Celtic Thunder album when he was fourteen years old. McGinty lists Michael Buble, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra among his inspirations.[5] On April 29, 2011 it was announced that Damian was chosen as one of 12 contenders for The Glee Project, a reality series on the Oxygen Network. He tied for first and had a guest starring role in the third season of the Fox hit TV show Glee. He debuted on Glee season 3 episode 4 Pot o' Gold. Though originally awarded a seven-episode arc, his run-time was later extended to 16 episodes including a guest appearance in season 4's Glee Actually. In the summer of 2013 Damian joined Paul Byrom for "The Me and My Shadow" Tour. McGinty is also part of Ethan Bortnick's concert.
Emmet Michael Cahill (born October 18, 1990) became Paul Byrom's replacement. 2010 was a very exciting year for Emmet Cahill; he was awarded the 2010 John Mc Cormack Bursary for the most Promising Young Tenor, and was named the most promising young singer at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He has been a multiple prizewinner at the National Feis Ceoil singing competition in Ireland. Emmet is 20 years old and hails from Mullingar in County Westmeath in Ireland. His musical journey began when at just 5 years old he began learning the piano. By 7 Emmet had begun voice training, and he soon went on to win a music scholarship for high school in Mullingar and spend 5 years intensively studying and playing music. At school he furthered his studies in piano, organ and violin and vocal training, however singing has always been his true love. He continued his education at the prestigious Royal Irish Academy of Music where he received a university degree in Music Performance. He has been in many stage productions in Dublin and has performed on stage at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and as a soloist at the National Concert Hall. He is an avid sports fan and has performed twice at Croke Park in Dublin, in front of crowds of 90,000. One such occasion was for the 125th Anniversary of The GAA. He has also performed for the President of Ireland Mary McAleese and at several international rugby games Dublin’s new Aviva Stadium. Emmet also sings regularly at the Mullingar Cathedral.
He is a huge sports fan and has won many prizes playing football with his college and local teams. In his spare time, he also loves attending music and sporting events, playing the guitar and listening to music. He attended auditions for Celtic Thunder in June 2010 and was delighted to be asked by Sharon and Phil to join the show. Emmet Cahill is the latest addition to the Celtic Thunder family.
Daniel Furlong
Vocalist
Daniel Furlong was the newest (and youngest) member of Celtic Thunder. Daniel is 13 years old and hails from the town of Taghmon in County Wexford on the Southeast coast of Ireland. He is a boy soprano and was discovered when he entered a singing competition at the age of seven and won! Although Daniel is barely a teenager, he has been performing and singing in public for over six years. Daniels hometown of Wexford is synonymous with Opera and is host to the internationally acclaimed Opera Festival in October of every year. Indeed Daniel is no stranger to opera and played the role of Edgar in the Wexford Light Opera Society production of Ragtime in 2008. In 2008 and again in 2009, Daniel was also cast in the lead role of Oliver in the musical Oliver with both Oyster Lane and Festival productions. He has also performed solo on two national television stations in Ireland. In 2009 Daniel won an All Ireland Song Contest as a solo singer, competing with artists considerably older than he. In 2011 he won "The All Ireland Talent" Show a nationally televised talent competition and Irelands answer to Americas Got Talent. In light of all of his incredible achievements to date, his home county of Wexford honored Daniel by naming him "Wexford Person of the Year" for 2011.
Daniel describes himself as an outgoing and optimistic, friendly and a fun person. He likes to spend time with his friends and family, and he loves the chance to perform. He is quite competitive and loves playing team sports such as hurling, Gaelic football, soccer and rounders (softball). Music is obviously Daniels passion, he practices with his local choir "The Young Wexford Singers" every week and is also learning to play the guitar and the pigeon box. Daniel came to the attention of Celtic Thunder producer Sharon Browne, when he won the All Ireland Talent Show" and she quickly arranged to meet him. His energy and enthusiasm is infectious and once Sharon had met Daniel and seen him perform, she immediately offered him a place in Celtic Thunder. He performs an angelic version of Walking In The Air in the Christmas show and also sings solo in Heritage on Somewhere Over The Rainbow and the Josh Groban hit To Where You Are. Daniel also joins with other members of Celtic Thunder in the Ensembles and performs duets with Keith and Emmet.
Colm Joseph Keegan (born August 2, 1989) is from Dublin, Ireland. He attended University College Dublin on a music scholarship, graduating in 2011 with an honors degree in Music and Irish. Colm auditioned for and was selected for Celtic Thunder in May 2012 as a new vocalist, becoming a sixth member of the previously five-man group. He was formerly a member of the Aontas Choral Ensemble, who are known for their work with Celtic Woman. Colm appeared in the Celtic Woman DVDs 'Songs From The Heart' (2009) and 'Believe' (2011).
Emmett O'Hanlon (born July 9, 1991), Celtic Thunder's newest member, is Emmet Cahill's replacement. He is Irish- American. Emmett will be touring with Celtic Thunder during their Mythology tour and the Christmas Voices Symphony tour.
Beginning in March 2008, the group has been featured throughout the US on the PBS television network more than 1200 times, and during May and June 2008, members of the group were interviewed on dozens of local PBS stations during performances of their show
Celtic Thunder is also the name of a traditional Irish band formed in 1977. The band recorded three albums―1981’s Celtic Thunder; The Light of Other Days (1988), and Hard New York Days in 1996.
Black Is the Colour
Celtic Thunder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her lips are like some roses fair
She's got the sweetest smile, and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground, where on she stands
I love my love, and well she knows
I love the ground where on she go's,
I wish the day, it soon would come, when she and I
Could be as one,
Her lips are like some roses fair
She's got the sweetest smile, and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground, where on she stands
I go to the clyde, where I mourne and weep, for satisfied I never could be
So I write her a letter, just a few short lines, and suffer death,
A thousand times
For black is the colour
Of my true loves hair
Her lips are like red roses fair
She's got the sweetest smile, and the gentlest hands,
And I love the ground where on she stands,
Black is the colour of my true loves hair
Her lips are like some roses fair
She's got the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands,
And I love the ground, where on she stands
Black is the colour, of my true loves hair
The song Black Is the Colour by Celtic Thunder is a beautiful and romantic love ballad that describes the singer's love for his partner. The song's title serves as a metaphor for the lover's partner, whose hair is black as coal. The lyrics focus on the singer's admiration for his lover's physical beauty, such as her lips being like beautiful red roses and her having the sweetest smile and gentle hands.
Beyond just the physical, the singer's love for his partner extends to the very ground on which she stands. He longs for the day when they can be together as one, suggesting that they are currently separated for some reason, and he thinks of her so much that he even goes to cry and mourn for her by the Clyde river. In his desperation, he writes her a letter, even if it is just a few short lines, as a way to express his love and longing for her.
In essence, this song is about unrequited love with a partner who is perhaps distant or not aware of the singer's feelings. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of how much the singer loves his partner, and how he longs for her to reciprocate his feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Black is the colour, of my true loves hair
My beloved's hair color is black and it is the most desirable color for me.
Her lips are like some roses fair
Her lips are vermillion like a bunch of roses and very beautiful.
She's got the sweetest smile, and the gentlest hands
My lover's smile is very sweet, and her hands are very gentle.
And I love the ground, where on she stands
I love the place where my lover stands and her presence fills me with happiness.
I love my love, and well she knows
My love for her is unconditional and she is aware of it.
I love the ground where on she goes
Even the path where she walks fills me with love for her.
I wish the day, it soon would come, when she and I Could be as one
I hope the day arrives soon when my lover and I can be together.
I go to the clyde, where I mourne and weep, for satisfied I never could be
I go to the river Clyde to mourn and cry because I can never be satisfied without her.
So I write her a letter, just a few short lines, and suffer death, A thousand times
I write her short love letters, which remind me of her, and my love for her makes me feel like I'm dying.
For black is the colour Of my true loves hair
Once again, black is the color of my love's hair, and it is something I cherish so much.
Her lips are like red roses fair
Her lips are as beautiful as red roses and I am drawn towards them.
She's got the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands, And I love the ground, where on she stands
My lover's smile is very sweet, and her hands are very gentle, and I am completely enamored by her.
Black is the colour of my true loves hair
Again, black is the color that represents my love's hair, and it is something that holds a lot of importance for me.
Her lips are like some roses fair
Once again, her lips are like some red roses, which are very pleasing to look at.
She's got the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands, And I love the ground, where on she stands
My lover's smile and hands have captured my heart and I can't help but love the place where she stands.
Writer(s): DP, COULTER PHIL
Contributed by Joseph H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michael Melton
This guy comes across as not only a excellent singer but nice guy as well. Ryan’s smile is infectious! There has NEVER been a group like CELTIC THUNDER. I never get tired of listening to them.
Talon Smith
i love ryans solos in every song. so glad hes still with celtic thunder. wish some of the others would come bk like keith
Lindi Fuller
Love Ryan's voice. He has always been my favorite.
Joanne Weislocher
I love Ryan’s voice and all the expressions and body moves he makes!!!! He’s the best!
Gabrielle Herbinet/Metz
His exeptionnal voice and his eyes are so great!🥰
Tigre7
Ahh Ryan, such great talent and energy!!🤘☘️💚
Karenna Ukraini
And SOOO HANDSOME!!!😍😍😍😍😍
Debbie Toornman
Ryan does a wonderful job with this song.
South Bound
I caught this in Cherokee a few years back. Ryan has a voice that you can never forget.
Jane Elfgren
Love this man. Such a great singer, and so talented man.💚💚💚