Ryan Kelly has come a long way from singing in his local chapel in the Moy, Co Tyrone.
The 44-year-old is one part of the hugely successful group Celtic Thunder, which has gained significant success in North America with a series of stage shows, television specials and albums since 2007.
Ryan now spends the majority of his time on tours and recording in the United States, Canada and Australia to satisfy the group’s massive fanbase.
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He told Belfast Live his interest in music first came about as it does for many people locally, his family.
“My background in music is similar to a lot of musicians from this part of the world, family was the biggest thing,” Ryan said.
“My dad, who sadly passed away in 2016, he was always into his music and played the organ in the local chapel here.
“There was always music about the house and I always remember singing from an early age.
“It was always supposed to be a bit of a pastime really, I never thought any more of it than that.
“I was working as a chartered accountant and gigging at the weekends which was quite the contrast.”
In 2007 Ryan had been working as an accountant with Bank of Ireland, and was offered another job with Ulster Bank. It was during the months he had to take off for gardening leave that the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to him.
“My brother contacted me to say he had seen this article in a newspaper that Phil Coulter was looking for an Irish band to tour America, and they were holding auditions across Ireland and Scotland.
“I was doing nothing else so I said I would go along for the craic, and ended up making it through all the auditions and was lucky enough to be offered the job for one of the five principal singers for this group called Celtic Thunder.
“They were talking about touring America and I said I would give it a go, it might work out for one tour and if I have to go back with my tail between my legs so be it.
“That was 2007 when we filmed the show, we toured in 2008 and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Celtic Thunder originated as a televised performance of a musical that was broadcast to millions of homes throughout the US.
What followed was a series of live tours and albums which have proved wildly popular in the country, as well as other areas such as Canada and Australia.
“It’s just been incredible, we’ve played Radio City Music Hall a few times, we sang at the White House and the Pentagon.
“I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of it. It’s got a real loyal fan base over there and it has just worked so well.
“I had the misconception when I went over that it was just going to be singing to expats and people with an Irish background, but it hasn’t been that at all.
“We do sing some classic Irish folk and ballads, but we mix that with other songs as well. We found that people were just watching the show on TV just really enjoying it, and then they want to go and see a show then after that.”
Despite the roaring success of the group and his notoriety across the Atlantic, Ryan says home will always be where the heart is.
Just weeks ago he took to the stage in his hometown of the Moy to help turn the Christmas lights on, and he said it was one of the highlights of his career.
He added: “I’ve been on this rollercoaster basically ever since, I will go away for three or four months but it’s always great to come back home and just be a bit normal again.
“Singing at the Moy Christmas lights was just great, it’s lovely to be able to go back and do things like that.
“I wrote a song many years ago called ‘The Village That They Call The Moy’ and I sang it as part of the lights switch on.
“I was just thinking to myself when I was standing on stage in the middle of the Moy singing my own song about the place was one of the proudest moments I ever had.”
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