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
PBS TV specials, performed at the
White House 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
Billboard magazine. McGinty returned as a special guest for the "Very Best of Celtic Thunder Tour" in 2015, and again for the "Legacy" touring cycle in 2016 following the departures of Colm Keegan and Emmett O’Hanlon. By 2017, he was again listed as part of the group's official line-up.
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 reality show,
The Glee Project. The
O visa 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's "
Haven't Met You Yet" together for the Bing video.
Glee In the
third season of
Glee, McGinty played
Rory Flanagan, a foreign exchange student staying with
Brittany S. Pierce's family and befriended by
Finn Hudson. In his premiere, the season's fourth episode "
Pot o' Gold", McGinty performed two solos:
Teddy Thompson's "
Take Care of Yourself", which showcased his "beautiful range", and
Kermit the Frog's "
Bein' Green", 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
MTV "Glee-Cap". McGinty has almost half a million fans on
X (formerly Twitter).
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. McGinty and Vincent reached the final, finishing as joint runners-up to
Carl Mullan and
Emily Barker.
Performances Let the River Run McGinty and
Máiréad Carlin sang the Derry City of Culture anthem "
Let the River Run" 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 was also a 2014 US tour. 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. 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, Kids Beating Cancer, Oceana,
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==