Damian McGinty
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Damian Joseph McGinty Jr. (born 9 September 1992) is an Irish singer and actor. McGinty has been performing for over a decade, and a member of the group Celtic Thunder for thirteen years starting when he was fourteen. On 21 August 2011, McGinty won the
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reality show ''
The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...
'', earning him a seven-episode guest-starring role on the hit
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television show ''
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'' which was later extended to 18 episodes.


Early life

McGinty was born into a
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family in Derry,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, the son of Damian McGinty Sr. and Joanne McGinty. Damian has three siblings, James, Emmett and Gemma, and is an avid Manchester United fan. He has been performing since winning his first singing competition when he was just five years old. In 2006, McGinty won another competition and the following year, he made a CD which was recorded for charity. It was then passed along to Celtic Thunder Producer Sharon Browne and Music Director
Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...
, who invited McGinty to sing for their first show.


Career


Celtic Thunder

McGinty joined the newly formed Celtic Thunder in 2008 as a boy soprano at 14, and as he aged, developed a rich baritone, while still singing tenor and able to hit the high notes. During the four years he was a member, the group did four tours of the US and Canada, six
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TV specials, performed at the
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and sold over a million recordings, with McGinty on nine of the concert CDs and DVDs. For three of his four years, Celtic Thunder was named Top World Album by
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. In 2015, McGinty returned as the Special Guest in the "Very Best of Celtic Thunder Tour" and now, he takes George Donaldson's place in the newest concert "Legacy". He is a full member of the group once again.


The Glee Project

In 2011, McGinty was selected as one of the top twelve finalists, out of 40,000 contenders, in a Myspace audition search, to be on the
Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
reality show, ''
The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...
''. The
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arrived at the last moment, allowing him to compete. He became very popular with viewers due to his humor, talent and hard work. Although his friend Cameron Mitchell, who quit (possibly saving McGinty who was in the bottom three that episode), won the Bing Fan Favorite, they sang
Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
's "
Haven't Met You Yet "Haven't Met You Yet" is the first single from Canadian singer Michael Bublé's fourth studio album, '' Crazy Love'', released on August 31, 2009. According to Bublé, the single and its official music video are "about everyone's dream of finding ...
" together for the Bing video. McGinty's rendition of " Beyond the Sea" impressed the judges who selected him as co-winner with
Samuel Larsen Samuel Peter Acosta Larsen (born August 28, 1991) is an American actor and singer. On August 21, 2011, Larsen won the reality competition program '' The Glee Project'' on the Oxygen network, which led to his having a recurring role as Joe Hart on ...
for a seven episode arc on the third season of the Fox series ''Glee''. He announced that he was leaving Celtic Thunder for Glee.


''Glee''

In the third season of ''
Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'', McGinty played
Rory Flanagan Rory Flanagan is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actor Damian McGinty, and appeared in ''Glee'' starting with its third season episode " Pot o' Gold", first broa ...
, a foreign exchange student staying with
Brittany S. Pierce Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and first appeared in the show's second episode, "Showmance". Brittany was developed by ''Gle ...
's family and befriended by
Finn Hudson Finn Christopher Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. The character was portrayed by Cory Monteith and first appeared on television when ''Glee'' premiered its pilot episode on Fox on May 19, 2009 ...
. In his premiere, the season's fourth episode " Pot o' Gold", McGinty performed two solos:
Teddy Thompson Teddy Thompson (born 19 February 1976) is an English folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson. He released his first album in 2000. Biography Teddy Thompson ...
's " Take Care of Yourself", which showcased his "beautiful range", and
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's "
Bein' Green "Bein' Green" (also known as "It's Not Easy Bein' Green") is a song written by Joe Raposo, originally performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog on both ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'' (in the episodes "Peter Ustinov" and "Peter Seller ...
", his "simple, clear-voiced ode to being an outsider rang true and was hauntingly beautiful." His initial seven episodes were extended to the end of the third season and he returned for the fourth season Christmas episode, for a total of 18. His "smooth and lovely" rendition of " Blue Christmas" was featured on '' Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2'', as well as " Home" as a solo, as well as part of numerous group and duet songs. McGinty appeared in a humorous sketch about his Irish accent on a
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"Glee-Cap" The popular singer has over half a million fans on
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.


''Dancing with the Stars''

In December 2022, McGinty was announced as one of the contestants on the upcoming sixth series of the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars in 2023. He was partnered with Kylee Vincent.


Performances


''Let the River Run''

McGinty and
Máiréad Carlin Mairead, Máiréad or Mairéad, is a feminine name and the Irish variation of the given name Margaret, which is believed to mean "pearl". Another spelling variation is Maighread, which is the dominant Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. It may r ...
sang the Derry City of Culture anthem "
Let the River Run "Let the River Run" is a song written, composed, and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, and the theme to the 1988 Mike Nichols film ''Working Girl.'' The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award ...
" at the BBC TV Gala Concert ''Sons and Daughters.'' Carly Simon, who felt their rendition of her song was "absolutely stunningly wonderful," released it as a single by her Iris Records and McGinty's Walled City Records company in 2014. She also performed her song with them during the multi-star Oceana Partners Awards Gala in Beverly Hills, California.


TV specials

Between 2008 and 2011, prior to his time on ''Glee'', McGinty was in five PBS specials as a member of Celtic Thunder: ''The Show'', ''It’s Entertainment'', ''Christmas'', ''Heritage'' and ''Storm''. In 2013, McGinty appeared in two PBS specials. He joined former Celtic Thunder member Paul Byrom on his ''This Is the Moment'' show, and later they did a short tour. The other special ''The Power of Music'' with
Ethan Bortnick Ethan Jordan Bortnick (born December 24, 2000) is an American pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, musician and actor. He has been featured on ''The Tonight Show'', ''Oprah Winfrey Network'', ''Good Morning America'', Disney Channel, Ni ...
was also a 2014 US tour.


Public performances

McGinty gave a "stunning performance" of the national anthem before the Kansas City Royals vs.
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
baseball game on 19 May 2015. He also has done all sized venues as a solo artist and is currently performing shows.


Recordings

His first EP ("Run," "This Is Your Song", "With or Without You", "Yellow" and "That's What Friends Are For") was released in December 2012 and at one point was No. 3 on the iTunes chart for US, and No. 1 in Ireland, Mexico and Peru. Various reviewers made note of his "smooth crooner voice", "rich tones" and his "golden pipes." Recently, he has been writing songs for his first album.


Charities

McGinty has lent his support to various charities including Concern Worldwide in a public service video on the need to get the children back to school in Haiti following the earthquake,
The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...
, Kids Beating Cancer, Oceana, and local charities.


Those Were The Days - The Tour

The band performed a US tour between 14 October and 21 November 21, 2021. , url=https://damianmcginty.com/tours,


Cultural Ambassador

McGinty served as "Cultural Champion" for Derry, Northern Ireland, when the city was named the UK City of Culture 2013.


Walled City Records & Audio Booth

McGinty and his childhood friend Oran O’Carroll co-own the music companies Walled City Records and Audio Booth recording company.


Personal life

McGinty announced his engagement to Anna Claire Sneed, on 3 June 2018, via
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post. The pair had been dating since April 2014. On 1 June 2019, McGinty and Sneed got married in Memphis, Tennessee.


Filmography


Discography


Albums

*2016: ''This Christmas Time'' *2019: ''Young Forever'' *2022 (Upcoming): ''Moments''


EPs

*2012: ''Damian McGinty EP'' *2018: ''No More Time EP''


Singles

*2012: "Run" *2014: "Let the River Run" *2016: "How Deep is Your Love" *2017: "
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" *2018: "Geronimo" *2019: "Home Sweet Home" *2019: "Saltwater" *2021: "City of Angels" *2022: "Like Moments Do" *2022: "Nobody Ever Grows Up"


Appearances


Celtic Thunder concerts DVD/CD

* ''Celtic Thunder'' (2008) * ''Act Two'' (2008) * ''Take Me Home'' (2009) * ''It's Entertainment!'' (2010) * ''Christmas'' (2010) * ''Heritage'' (2011) * ''
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
'' (2011) * ''The Very Best of Celtic Thunder'' (2015) * ''Legacy, Vol. 1'' (2016) * ''Legacy, Vol. 2'' (2016) * ''Inspirational'' (2017) * ''X'' (2018)


''Glee'' Cast

* '' Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2'' * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 7'' * '' Glee: The Music Presents Glease''


References


External links


Damian McGinty Official WebsiteWalled City Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcginty, Damian 1992 births Living people Pop singers from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Reality casting show winners 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland