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.
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.
Current Members:
Past Members:
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.