Group Bio's

Damian McGinty

Damian is 15 years old, in his third year at a grammar school. He lives with his parents, brother and sister in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Damian will turn 16 year old in September 2008.

He loves playing football and supports Manchester United along with his local city team.

He has loved singing from a young age and won his first singing competition at the age of 6. Damian is in a drama society and the City of Derry Choir.

He has entertained teachers and pupils alike in school with his star performances. He is also in his local church choir and has recently recorded a gospel C.D.


In 2006 Damian won a competition where the prize was to record 2 tracks on C.D. This was his true beginning. After singing in the Millennium Forum at a concert for Derry City football team, Damian recorded a CD of 14 tracks, profits going to the local Foyle Hospice, he has raised a £1,000.

His participation in this project had greatly increased Damian’s profile and songs from his CD have been aired on radio. He also performs at concerts for the Red Cross.

Damian sent a copy of his CD to Phil Coulter, who passed it to Sharon Browne. From this Damian was invited to Audition as a singer for Celtic Thunder. It is a dream come true for him to have been successful.

Keith Harkin

Keith comes from County Londonderry. Keith has been singing and winning the Derry Feis on numerous occassions since the age of 4.

Keith is a talented Songwriter and excellent Guitar player as well as an amazing singer. He played at the Tavistock Festival in the UK in September ’05 and then played the Lead in BBC’s “Dha Theanga” in 2006 and also composed and recorded songs for the show.

Keith was the support act in Concerts for both John Martyn and David Kitt in 2007.

His only ambition is to be a full time singer/songwriter and musician, an ambition he is dedicated to, having worked for the past year and a half just to make trips over and back to Metropolis Studios in London to begin recording tracks for his own album. He has done many of his own gigs and has been interviewed many times on Radio Foyle in Derry about his adventures in London recording songs and gigging.


Keith only heard about the auditions for Celtic Thunder late on the day of the Auditons in Derry as he was just back from another trip to London. He called into the Auditions on spec just as they were finishing, he auditioned and was very happy to be asked there and then to attend the final Auditions in Dublin.

Which brings Keith up to now….. A Soloist in this new CELTIC THUNDER Show, hopefully the start of a long and successful career in Music.

Ryan Kelly

Ryan comes from The Moy in County Tyrone. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Queen’s University, Belfast and a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting.

Ryan has been singing since the age of 7 in Choirs but most enjoys singing Irish Traditional and Folk Music. He finished second in the BBC television “Country Cool” competition in 2003. Ryan has performed alongside Westlife, Girls Aloud and Simply Red in the televised “Children in Need Live Charity Concert” at the Odyssey in Belfast to an audience of over 8,000.

Throughout this time Ryan continued performing Traditional Irish Music and became Tyrone’s Singing Champion at the SCOR competition in March 2007.

Ryan is actively involved in Amateur Dramatics and has played the lead in “Blood Brothers” and played “Judas Iscariot” in “Jesus Christ Superstar”


Auditioning for CELTIC THUNDER seemed an ideal way to take Ryan’s passion for Traditional Irish Music to a professional level and now having been successfully chosen as one of the 5 vocal soloists Ryan is delighted to be on the path to a career as a professional singer.

Paul Byrom

Dublin born Paul Byron has been hailed as Ireland’s premier young tenor and it is easy to see why. Singled out at an early age as having a special vocal talent, Paul was encouraged to pursue his dream and began voice study and training at the tender age of seven.

He studied under Dr Veronica Dunne, Ireland’s leading lady of Opera and renowned vocal teacher. A professional singer by his early teens, Paul recorded his first album as a boy soprano when he was fourteen.

From this illustrious debut, Paul Byrom’s star has continued to rise. He released his album VELVET in Ireland in 2005 to great critical acclaim and sales of this album placed him firmly at number #2 in the music charts. VELVET also made Paul Byrom a household name in his native country. Since then Paul has gone on to sell out concerts at the prestigious National Concert Hall in Dublin in 2006 and again in 2007.

Being also an avid sports fan, Paul has taken great pleasure in performing at major sporting events in Ireland and abroad. His appearances at such events include singing at the All Ireland Finals in Croke Park in Dublin, the Six Nations Rugby tournament in Lansdowne Road, Dublin and at Heinz Field for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the USA.


Paul’s talent has taken him far, and the highlights of his career to date include performing for many dignitaries such as Irish President Mary McAleese and Emperor Akihito of Japan. His vocal style and range have brought him to the attention of illustrious fellow Irish musicians, composers and singers such as Bono, Phil Coulter and Shay Healy.

Indeed, Phil Coulter contacted Paul when the auditions for CELTIC THUNDER were announced. Paul auditioned for the show’s producer Sharon Browne, the original producer of Celtic Woman, and for the show’s musical director Phil Coulter. He was cast as one the five solo leads in the show and is the sole tenor in the international production. The show, Celtic Thunder was filmed in the Helix in Dublin in August 2007 to phenomenal audience reaction. The DVD and CD of the show will go on release in the US on February 2008, and a 50 city tour is set for fall of 2008. The Show, CELTIC THUNDER will also be aired on local Public Broadcasting Stations across the USA in March 2008.

2008 is shaping up to be another momentous year for Paul, with the next step in his music career firmly underway. “I am thrilled to be part of the Celtic Thunder project and to work with Sharon and Phil” says Byrom. “We had so much fun making the show, and it is very exciting to think about bringing it to US audiences.”

George Donaldson

At forty years of age, George Donaldson is a long and well established singer in the vibrant Glasgow and West of Scotland Folk scene.

His attributes include folk sessions for BBC Scotland and appearances at Glasgow’s own Celtic Connections and the Glasgow West End Festival.

George has played alongside many folk musicians and singers, including Jim McCann and others from the Dubliners and has performed at the famous Glasgow Barrowlands.

As a self taught, accomplished musician, George plays the Guitar, Flute, Mandolin, bodhran, and Banjo, and has recently become the proud owner of a Violin…. in a bid to help his six year old daughter as she learns to play. Georges’ love of traditional Celtic music stems from his childhood in Glasgow, his main influence being his late father Bernard who had a love and appreciation of all kinds of live music played from the heart. Nothing more pleased his father than George becoming a successful musician and Playing at his beloved Celtic Park in front of 65,000 fans at the opening match of the 2000/01 Season.


One of his main attributes is his charm and personality. He loves meeting new people and has many friends from all over the world. He is first to admit his first love is his Family, and knows how lucky he is to have Carolyn, his lovely wife and Sarah, his beautiful daughter, who are his inspiration…. this along with his mother Helen and eight brothers and sisters who all share in his love of the Folk scene keeps George focused and never short of an audience.

To date, George has toured in America, Canada and Europe, and has developed a fondness for Germany, where he has a great following. His love of the country, its people and its culture has encouraged him, as an eternal student, to attempt to master the language….!

George loves being a part of and a performer in CELTIC THUNDER, it is a new direction for him and the most exciting of his career to date.

George can be found at his favourite gig in Jinty McGintys in the west end of Glasgow, where he is renowned for his ballad singing. He has been resident singer at Jintys for the last 15 years and has established a fond following of support, people are known to come here from all areas of the world to hear him sing.….