The Irish Tenors are a singing trio from Ireland that was started in 1998 by a group of television producers for a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special ''The Irish Tenors''. They have since recorded five PBS specials and eight albums. The group's members are Declan Kelly,

Anthony Kearns Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants ...

and

Ronan Tynan Ronan Tynan (born 14 May 1960) is an Irish tenor singer and former Paralympic athlete. He was a member of The Irish Tenors re-joining in 2011 while continuing to pursue his solo career since May 2004. In the United States, audiences know him f ...

History

Daniel Harte and Bill Hughes formed the idea of a trio of Irish tenors during the

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

film festival. Harte and Hughes wanted to produce a television special and first approached Ireland's

Finbar Wright Edward Finbar Wright (born 26 September 1957), known popularly as Finbar Wright, is a popular music singer, songwriter, and poet from County Cork, Ireland. Wright is a classically trained tenor who emerged during the 1990s in Ireland and has b ...

(one of Ireland's leading romantic tenors) in 1998 to join the group, but Wright's recording contract with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

prohibited such a venture. Then they invited Canadian balladeer John McDermott to head up the group and he accepted. After conferring with Ireland's leading vocal coach, Dr. Veronica Dunne, classically trained singers

and

were asked to join. In 1999, ''The Irish Tenors: Live in Dublin'' debuted on PBS television in the United States. PBS signed up for another special by the increasingly popular new group, but early in 2000 McDermott's mother died and he decided he could not fully commit himself to the group. Days before PBS was to film ''The Irish Tenors – Live in Belfast'', Daniel Harte and Hughes again contacted Finbar Wright and asked him to step in. Wright agreed to help and was asked to stay on for upcoming tour dates. Having left Sony, Wright was able to join the trio on a permanent basis. In 2001, the Irish Tenors filmed their third special, an historic PBS broadcast at New York's

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

, hosted by Irish-American actor

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. Their album ''Ellis Island'' topped ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Heatseeker list and landed on its "Top 10 Best of 2001." The 2005 album ''Sacred'' features Kearns, Wright, and McDermott who rejoined the group temporarily after Ronan Tynan left to pursue a full-time solo career. In 2006, Karl Scully joined the group, replacing McDermott and Tynan. The increasingly successful blend of voices presented a nine-part television series for Ireland's

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

entitled ''The Irish Tenors & Friends''. Friends performing on the television special with The Irish Tenors included Lord

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

, Paul Carrick,

Finbar Furey Finbar Feargal Furey (born 28 September 1946) is a multi-instrumental Irish traditional music, Irish folk musician, best known for the band he formed with his brothers, The Fureys. The Fureys were formed in Ballyfermot, Dublin, where they grew u ...

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide ...

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...

, Peter Grant,

Rebecca Storm Rebecca Storm is a British singer and musical theatre actress. Best known for her role as Mrs Johnstone in smash hit musical Blood Brothers. Her 1985 hit single "The Show" was the theme to the ITV television series '' Connie''. Early career R ...

, Lucia Evans, and Celine Byrne. In 2007, the South Carolina Legislature issued a "Proclamation"South Carolina Legislature welcoming the trio to that State at their performance in Charleston. Scully remained a member of the trio until Tynan's return in 2012. The current trio comprises Kearns, Tynan and Wright, who continue to tour twice annually, typically around

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

and around the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

holidays.

Discography

* ''The Irish Tenors – Live in Dublin'' (1999) * ''Home for Christmas'' (1999) * ''Live In Belfast'' (2000) * ''Ellis Island'' (2001) * ''Best of The Irish Tenors'' (2002) * ''We Three Kings'' (2003) * ''Heritage'' (2004) * ''Sacred'' (2005) * ''Christmas'' (2009) * ''Ireland'' (2010) * ''25th Anniversary Tour CD'' (2023)

Filmography

* ''Live in Dublin'' (1999) * ''Live in Belfast'' (2000) * ''Ellis Island'' (2001) * ''In Concert with the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra'' (2004) * ''The Irish Tenors & Friends'' (2006)

History

Discography

Filmography

References

External links