Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces (often invoking symbols of ancient Celtic mythology), visual effects, and highly choreographed staging.
Since the original group's formation in 2007, Celtic Thunder has released twelve albums as well as ten live performances on DVD, three of which were split into two releases.
History Celtic Thunder was conceived in the mind of producer Sharon Browne (Celtic Collections) who started the group in 2007. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. They are accompanied by the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
In December 2008, 2009 and 2011, Billboard magazine named Celtic Thunder Top World Album Artist. Their first three albums also placed in the top 10 for World Albums.
In March 2009, Celtic Thunder opened the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York City.
On 28 November 2010, Celtic Thunder member Paul Byrom announced his resignation from the group to begin a solo career. He left the group when the 2010 concert tour was over.
In 2011, Damian McGinty (the group's youngest member) entered and won the Oxygen reality show The Glee Project. On 21 August 2011, McGinty announced on The Glee Projects Live Viewing Party, that he would be stepping down from Celtic Thunder due to his new role on Glee. McGinty returned to the group in 2015, and has been on their subsequent albums.
George Donaldson died of a heart attack on 12 March 2014 in his home in Glasgow.Celtic Thunder Announces the Passing of Principle Singer George Donaldson. pbs12.org. Retrieved 27th February 2024
Members
Current members Neil Byrne Emmet Cahill Damian McGinty Ronan Scolard
Past members Paul Byrom George Donaldson (died 2014) Daniel Furlong Keith Harkin Colm Keegan Ryan Kelly Michael O'Dwyer Emmett O'Hanlon
Band Current Members: Seamus Brett – keyboards, piano, assistant musical director Daniel Thompson – keyboards Kate Knudsvig – violin Meabh O’Donnell - pipes, whistles AJ Fullerton – guitars Forrest Raup – drums Past Members: Muireann Ní She – pipes, whistles Tim Philpott - bass Alex Goldberg – bass Peter Sheridan – keyboards David Bakey - guitars Conal Early – guitars Seána Davey – harp, concertina Charlie Foley – bass Nicole Hudson – violin Laura Durrant – cello Ruth O'Leary (Sephira) – violin Joyce O'Leary (Sephira) – violin David Munro – piano, musical director Barry Kerr – pipes, whistles, bodhran, mandolin Declan O'Donoghue – percussion
Creative team Mark Jones – production director Ronan Scolard – music director Stuart McInnes – front-of-house audio engineer Thomas Gray - monitor engineer Jean Clancy – marketing manager Declan Browne – online merchandise manager Matthew Browne – tour merchandise manager
Discography and videography
Studio albums
TitleDate of releaseMedia formatFeatured soloistsNotesSalesCertifications Celtic Thunder: The Show 18 March 2008 CD & DVD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty Both 14-song and 28-song versions of the DVD have been released US: 231,000 ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Act Two 16 September 2008 CD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty US: 193,000 Celtic Thunder: Take Me Home 14 July 2009 CD & DVD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty ARIA: Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: It's Entertainment! 9 February 2010 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Christmas 12 October 2010 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Heritage 22 February 2011 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty ARIA: Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Storm 20 September 2011 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty Recorded in 2009 ARIA: Gold (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Voyage 28 February 2012 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Furlong, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly US: 76,000 ARIA: Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Voyage II 25 June 2012 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Furlong, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, For online purchase only, re-released 2015 as New Voyage Celtic Thunder: Mythology 19 February 2013 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly Also available as 2 CD deluxe edition ARIA: Platinum (DVD) Celtic Thunder: Christmas Voices 11 October 2013 CD Byrne, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly Re-released 2014 as Holiday Symphony, 2015 as The Classic Christmas Album The Very Best of Celtic Thunder 13 March 2015 CD Byrne, Byrom, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'Hanlon Also features re-recorded tracks to include Keegan and O'Hanlon Celtic Thunder: Inspirational 29 September 2017 CD Byrne, Byrom, Cahill, Donaldson, Furlong, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty, O'Dwyer Features new tracks recorded May 2017 and a few old tracks Celtic Thunder X 2 March 2018 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Kelly, McGinty, O’Dwyer A new show for 2018 to celebrate 10 Years of Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder: Homeland 12 March 2021 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'Dwyer, O'Hanlon A new album and show celebrating the Irish music from the past 10 years of Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder: Odyssey 24 November 2023 (CD) & 30 April 2024 (DVD) CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Kelly (CD), McGinty, Scolard (DVD) A new show for 2023 Celtic Thunder: The Live Experience 22 November 2024 CD Byrne, Cahill, McGinty, Scolard A live recording of Celtic Thunder: Odyssey
In 2015 Legacy re-released the whole Celtic Thunder back-catalogue, including re-releases of Celtic Thunder, Celtic Thunder: Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Christmas (with new art work), Heritage, Storm, Voyage, New Voyage (originally entitled Voyage II), Mythology and The Classic Christmas Album (originally entitled Holiday Symphony). Some of the songs originally sung by Paul Byrom got re-recorded by Emmett O'Hanlon or Colm Keegan. All tracklists were revised.
Compilations
TitleDate of releaseMedia formatNotes Celtic Thunder: Ireland's Call 2010 CDQVC bonus CD released along with It's Entertainment!; includes 5 tracks Celtic Thunder: The Irish Collection 2011 CD11-track compilation released along with Storm; includes 1 new recording Celtic Thunder: Heartland 2012 CD plus DVD15-track compilation Celtic Thunder: Islands 2013 CD12-track compilation released for Celtic Thunder Cruise 2013; includes 2 new recordings Celtic Thunder: Home 2013 DVDincludes fan favourites from previous DVDs Celtic Thunder: Myths & Legends 25 October 2013 CD plus DVDAustralian exclusive package; behind the scenes DVD plus 14-track CD Mythology leftovers Celtic Thunder: My Land 18 April 2014 CD plus DVDAustralian exclusive package; documentary DVD plus 8-track CD including Mythology leftovers George 2014 CD & DVD16-track George Donaldson tribute album Celtic Horizons 2014 CD16-track compilation released for Celtic Thunder Cruise 2014 Celtic Thunder: Celtic Roots Myths & Legends 30 October 2015 3 CDs plus 3 DVDsamazon.com exclusive set including the complete Mythology recording session Celtic Thunder: Emmet Cahill's Ireland 2017 CD 13 track album featuring Emmet Cahill Celtic Thunder: Ireland2020CD15 track album
Live albums
TitleDate of releaseMedia formatFeatured soloistsNotesCertifications Celtic Thunder: Live & Unplugged at Sullivan Hall New York 2013 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kellyfilmed in December 2012Celtic Thunder: Legacy, Vol. 1 26 February 2016 CD, DVD, Blu-ray, Vinyl Byrne, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'HanlonMcGinty is credited as "special guest" ARIA: Gold (DVD)Celtic Thunder: Legacy, Vol. 2 12 August 2016 CD, DVD Byrne, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'Hanlononly available through PBS pledge drive until officially released in fall 2016
References
External links