Celtic Thunder

This article is about the band founded in Ireland in 2007. For the band founded in the United States in 1977, see Celtic Thunder (United States).
"Neil Byrne" redirects here. For the Irish footballer, see Neill Byrne.

Celtic Thunder
OriginIreland
Genres
Years active2007–present
LabelsDecca, Verve, Legacy
MembersNeil Byrne
Emmet Cahill
Damian McGinty
Ronan Scolard
Past membersPaul Byrom
George Donaldson†
Daniel Furlong
Keith Harkin
Colm Keegan
Ryan Kelly
Michael O'Dwyer
Emmett O'Hanlon
WebsiteOfficial website

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.[1] 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.[2] 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 Project's Live Viewing Party, that he would be stepping down from Celtic Thunder due to his new role on Glee.[3] McGinty returned to the group in 2015, and has been on their subsequent albums.

George Donaldson died of a heart attack 12 March 2014 in his home in Glasgow.[4]

Members

Current members

Past members

Band

  • Conal Early – guitars
  • Seána Davey – harp, concertina
  • Charlie Foley – bass
  • Nicole Hudson – violin
  • Ruth O'Leary (Sephira) – violin
  • Joyce O'Leary (Sephira) – violin
  • David Munro – piano, musical director
  • Seamus Brett – keyboards, assistant musical director
  • Barry Kerr – pipes, whistles, bodhran, mandolin
  • Declan O'Donoghue – percussion

Creative team

  • Sharon Browne – creator, producer
  • Mark Jones – production director
  • David Munro – musical director
  • Katie Johnston Bruce – set & lighting designer
  • Stuart McInnes – front-of-house audio engineer
  • Craig Bruce – monitor audio engineer
  • Lucus Leckie – stage manager
  • Belinda Murphy – stage director
  • Jean Clancy – marketing manager
  • Declan Browne – online merchandise manager
  • Matthew Browne – tour merchandise manager

Discography and videography

Studio albums

Title Date of release Media format Featured soloists Notes Sales Certifications
Celtic Thunder: The Show 18 March 2008 CD & DVD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD)[6]
Celtic Thunder: Act Two 16 September 2008 CD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
Celtic Thunder: Take Me Home 14 July 2009 CD & DVD Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
  • ARIA: Platinum (DVD)[7]
Celtic Thunder: It's Entertainment! 9 February 2010 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD)[6]
Celtic Thunder: Christmas 12 October 2010 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum (DVD)[7]
Celtic Thunder: Heritage 22 February 2011 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty
  • ARIA: Platinum (DVD)[6]
Celtic Thunder: Storm 20 September 2011 CD & DVD Byrne, Byrom, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly, McGinty Recorded in 2009
  • ARIA: Gold (DVD)[6]
Celtic Thunder: Voyage 28 February 2012 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Furlong, Donaldson, Harkin, Kelly
  • ARIA: Platinum (DVD)[9]
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)[10]
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 & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Kelly, McGinty 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

Title Date of release Media format Notes
Celtic Thunder: Ireland's Call 2010 CD QVC bonus CD released along with It's Entertainment!; includes 5 tracks
Celtic Thunder: The Irish Collection 2011 CD 11-track compilation released along with Storm; includes 1 new recording
Celtic Thunder: Heartland 2012 CD plus DVD 15-track compilation
Celtic Thunder: Islands 2013 CD 12-track compilation released for Celtic Thunder Cruise 2013; includes 2 new recordings
Celtic Thunder: Home 2013 DVD includes fan favourites from previous DVDs
Celtic Thunder: Myths & Legends 25 October 2013 CD plus DVD Australian exclusive package; behind the scenes DVD plus 14-track CD Mythology leftovers
Celtic Thunder: My Land 18 April 2014 CD plus DVD Australian exclusive package; documentary DVD plus 8-track CD including Mythology leftovers
George 2014 CD & DVD 16-track George Donaldson tribute album
Celtic Horizons 2014 CD 16-track compilation released for Celtic Thunder Cruise 2014
Celtic Thunder: Celtic Roots Myths & Legends 30 October 2015 3 CDs plus 3 DVDs amazon.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: Ireland 2020 CD 15 track album

Live albums

Title Date of release Media format Featured soloists Notes Certifications
Celtic Thunder: Live & Unplugged at Sullivan Hall New York 2013 CD & DVD Byrne, Cahill, Donaldson, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly filmed in December 2012
Celtic Thunder: Legacy, Vol. 1 26 February 2016 CD, DVD, Blu-ray, Vinyl Byrne, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'Hanlon McGinty is credited as "special guest"
  • ARIA: Gold (DVD)[11]
Celtic Thunder: Legacy, Vol. 2 12 August 2016 CD, DVD Byrne, Harkin, Keegan, Kelly, McGinty, O'Hanlon only available through PBS pledge drive until officially released in fall 2016

References

  1. ^ "Celtic Thunder in Dublin". WLIW21. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 July 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  2. ^ "World Albums Artists – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. ^ The Glee Project
  4. ^ Celtic Thunder Announces the Passing of Principle Singer George Donaldson. pbs12.org. Retrieved 27th February 2024
  5. ^ a b Wete, Brad (1 October 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience' & 12 More Two-Album/One-Year Releases". Billboard. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Upcoming Releases 2013". Hits Daily Double. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  10. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  11. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2020.