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.

The Isle of Inisfree
Celtic Thunder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've met some folks who say that i'm a dreamer,
And i've no doubt there's truth in what they say,
But sure a body's bound to be a dreamer,
When all the things he loves are far away.
And precious things are dreams unto an exile,
They take him oe'r the land across the sea
Especially when it happens he's an exile,
From that dear lovely Isle of Inisfree.

And when the moonlight peeps across the rooftops,
Of this great city, wondrous though it be,
I scarcely feel its wonder or its laughter...
I'm once again back home in Inisfree.

I wander o'er green hills through dreamy valleys,
And find a peace no other land could know.
I hear the birds make music fit for angels,
And watch the rivers laughing as they flow.
And then into a humble shack i wander
My dear old home and tenderly behold,
The folks i love around the turf fire, gathered.
On bended knees, their rosary is told.

But dreams don't last
Though dreams are not forgotten
And soon i'm back to stern reality.

But though they pave the footways here with gold dust,
I still would choose my Isle of Inisfree.

Overall Meaning

In Celtic Thunder's "The Isle of Inisfree," the singer reflects on their status as an exile and how their longing for their home on the Isle of Inisfree affects their daily life. They acknowledge the criticism of others who call them a dreamer, but maintain that their dreams are warranted as they reflect their love for what they have lost. The singer's vivid descriptions invoke a sense of peace and beauty that they can only find in their memories of their homeland. The contrast between this idyllic world and their present reality in a bustling city is stark, and the singer can only find solace in their memories.

The lyrics highlight the power of memories and the pain of being away from one's home. The singer's connection to their homeland is so strong that even the glittering city lights cannot compare. This song resonates with those who have had to leave behind their homes and loved ones, whether through immigration, war, or other circumstances. The Isle of Inisfree represents a place of belonging and a reminder of what is truly important, even when life takes us in different directions.

Line by Line Meaning

I've met some folks who say that i'm a dreamer,
I have encountered people who believe I am someone with unrealistic aspirations.

And i've no doubt there's truth in what they say,
I cannot deny that there may be some truth to their belief.

But sure a body's bound to be a dreamer,
However, it is only natural for a person to have dreams and aspirations.

When all the things he loves are far away.
Especially when the things that he loves are not present and are distant.

And precious things are dreams unto an exile,
Valuable things are only realistic through the imagination of someone who is exiled.

They take him oe'r the land across the sea
These precious things make him journey through the vast, distant land and the ocean.

Especially when it happens he's an exile, From that dear lovely Isle of Inisfree.
This is true when he is an exile from his beloved, beautiful homeland known as Inisfree.

And when the moonlight peeps across the rooftops,
At night, when the moon's light barely shines across the tops of buildings,

Of this great city, wondrous though it be,
Of this magnificent city, no matter how marvelous it is,

I scarcely feel its wonder or its laughter...
I hardly feel its wonder or its merriment...

I'm once again back home in Inisfree.
Since my heart is still in Inisfree, I am there again in my mind.

I wander o'er green hills through dreamy valleys,
I roam across verdant hills and delightful valleys,

And find a peace no other land could know.
And discover a serenity that no other land could understand .

I hear the birds make music fit for angels,
I hear the music that the birds make, a song fit for celestial beings,

And watch the rivers laughing as they flow.
And I observe as the rivers delightfully continue to move forward.

And then into a humble shack i wander
I then walk into a modest dwelling,

My dear old home and tenderly behold,
My precious old home and lovingly gaze upon it,

The folks i love around the turf fire, gathered.
The people I love are gathered around the fire made up of turf.

On bended knees, their rosary is told.
They are praying the rosary while kneeling.

But dreams don't last
However, dreams do not last forever,

Though dreams are not forgotten
Even though dreams are not totally forgotten,

And soon i'm back to stern reality.
I shall return to the harshness of reality before long.

But though they pave the footways here with gold dust,
Yet despite making the streets covered with gold dust here,

I still would choose my Isle of Inisfree.
I still prefer the Isle of Inisfree.

Writer(s): richard farrelly

Contributed by Bentley B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

Becky Hatfield

2y↑22

Emmet is so young here. If we only knew just how much he'd grow vocally back then. Thanks for sharing this tbt video of one of his best songs.

Daniel Smucker

🎉yz

Steve Anderson

2y↑5

These are the songs that I enjoy the most, the original real Irish songs, not the new stuff . Celtic Thunder can sing these ballots from Ireland like know one else. I have every cd they put out. Grandma is from Belfast Ireland and Grandpa is from London England. They know and loved these ballots.