The world-famous Irish Tenors was originally composed of Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan, and Canadian balladeer John McDermott, with the trio first assembling for a concert at Ireland's Royal Dublin Society arena in 1998. Daniel Harte and Bill Hughes steered the concert's broadcast on US television network PBS in March 1999, servicing the country's huge American Irish appetite and boosting the group's exposure. The Irish Tenors: Live in Dublin was recorded and released that year, with a follow-up album, Home for Christmas, also arriving in 1999. Following the death of John McDermott's mother in early 2000, Finbar Wright – free of major-label obligations and one of Ireland's top romantic tenors, initially tapped by Daniel Harte and Bill Hughes to join the tenors – joined the group to record another PBS special, Live in Belfast, in 2000. The following year, the Irish Tenors filmed their third, career-defining PBS special at New York's Ellis Island, hosted by Irish-American actor Martin Sheen. Fourth album Ellis Island went on to the top of Billboard's Heatseeker list and made space for the group's Best of The Irish Tenors album to arrive in 2002. Another two albums followed, We Three Kings (2003) and Heritage (2004), with Ronan Tynan quitting the group to concentrate on his solo career. The Irish Tenors' 2005 album Sacred features his temporary replacement, John McDermott, with the new line-up of Karl Scully, Anthony Kearns, and Finbar Wight coming together in 2006 for nine-part RTÉ television series, The Irish Tenors & Friends. Karl Scully left the group in 2012 and was replaced by original member Ronan Tynan. The current Irish Tenors trio comprises Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan, and Finbar Wright. Aside from releasing a classical crossover album in 2017, titled Ireland, they continue to tour annually.
