Getting to Know Celtic Thunder's Ryan Kelly

Ryan Kelly, the "Dark Destroyer", brings in a theatrical presence with a very defined stage persona, and is on a "extended career break" from his accountancy position back home.

"Ryan Kelly, 30, comes from a small village called The Moy in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Queen's University Belfast and a Graduate Diploma in Advance Accounting. ...

"Ryan has been singing since the age of seven in various choirs but most enjoys singing Irish traditional and folk music - and became singing champion at the Scor competition in March 2007... He is also a talented songwriter, and hopes to have a CD of his own worked out someday soon.

"Musical theater has long been a part of Ryan's life. He has played the lead in Blood Brothers and the role of Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar - and, in fact, auditioned for Celtic Thunder with a song from that show. His ability to transform before one's eyes from a nice guy to what producer Sharon Browne saw as her show's "Dark Destroyer" made him a natural for his part in Celtic Thunder.

"Of Celtic Thunder as a group, Ryan says 'We each have five different looks and styles. The options for us are huge and we we're all up for that - for the challenge of it just vocally, you know. It's exciting times and we're hugely optimistic about what the future holds,'" [Excerpts from the Celtic Thunder Street Team's Ryan Kelly Biography].

This lens was created as part of a series meant to provide a place to link new fans of Celtic Thunder to all the various spots online every Thunderhead should know about and visit! These lenses are fan-maintained, so please do not leave messages here for any of the talented people involved in Celtic Thunder... they will not see them here.

[Photography credit goes to Alan Arthur Katz]