Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists Keith Harkin, … Read Full Bio ↴Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, Neil Byrne - who played guitar and sang backup on the albums before he joined, Damian McGinty, Emmett O'Hanlon, and Colm Keegan. And, formerly, Tenor Paul Byrom, Emmet Cahill, and George Donaldson, as well as Daniel Furlong, (who was a special guest star), who perform both solo and ensemble numbers.

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.

Lauren
Celtic Thunder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

So see the leaves
Fall to the ground
And see them
Lying all around
Cause still I can't see you

And there's a wind
That plays in the air

Flying around
How it does not care
Still I can't see you

And the seasons
Pass away
And I still sit here lonely
Each and every day
Wondering what's gone wrong
Cause I don't remember
Seasons lasting oh so long
Oh so long

[Chorus]
And I still can't see you
And I still can't see you
And I still can't see you

Lauren and I, Lauren and I

And there's the stars
Way in the skies
Leading me where
I don't know where or why
Still I can't see you

And when my back's
Against the wall
I see a reason
For it all
Still I can't see you

[Chorus]

Lauren and I
Lauren and I

Lauren and I
Lauren and I

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Celtic Thunder's song Lauren & I depict a sense of loneliness and longing for someone who is not around. The first verse describes the falling leaves that typically symbolize the end of a cycle or life, and how they are scattered around, but even so, the singer cannot see the person they are thinking about. The second verse mentions the stars in the sky, and how they are leading the singer somewhere they do not know, bringing to light the confusion and uncertainty they feel, all while still unable to see the one they desire.

The chorus repeats the line, "And I still can't see you," solidifying the theme of longing and loneliness present throughout the song. The final verse offers a glimpse of hope, where the singer sees a reason for the tough times they have been going through, yet still cannot see the one they long for. The song ends with a repeated chorus and the name "Lauren and I," suggesting that this song is written for the person the singer is thinking of.

Overall, the song Lauren & I is a powerful depiction of the feelings of loss, longing, and hopelessness many people can relate to at some point in their lives. The descriptive imagery of nature and stars adds to the emotional impact, making it a touching and relatable song for many.

Line by Line Meaning

So see the leaves
Observing the foliage that falls

Fall to the ground
Descend to the earth

And see them
Bear witness to the leaves on the ground

Lying all around
Scattered everywhere

Cause still I can't see you
I cannot visualize you despite the view I see

And there's a wind
An omnipresent breeze

That plays in the air
Dancing in the atmosphere

Flying around
Free to move in any direction

How it does not care
Without a worry in the world

Still I can't see you
I cannot perceive you

And the seasons
The four divisions of the year

Pass away
Disappear over time

And I still sit here lonely
I continue to exist in solitude

Each and every day
Every single day

Wondering what's gone wrong
Contemplating what went astray

Cause I don't remember
I cannot recollect

Seasons lasting oh so long
The seasons that seemed to last indefinitely

Oh so long
For an extended duration of time

[Chorus] And I still can't see you And I still can't see you And I still can't see you
The chorus repeats the line to emphasize the feeling of not seeing the person

Lauren and I, Lauren and I
Repetitive phrase of the artist and Lauren, the person he cannot see

And there's the stars
The twinkling heavenly bodies

Way in the skies
Located up in the upper atmosphere

Leading me where
Guiding me to a destination

I don't know where or why
Ignorant of the reason or location

Still I can't see you
Regardless, the person remains invisible

And when my back's
When things get burdensome

Against the wall
In a tight spot

I see a reason
Perceiving a purpose

For it all
For everything

Lauren and I, Lauren and I
Repetition of the song's title

Lauren and I
Restating who the singer is searching for