By MICHAEL ECK, Special to the Times Union
 Pop/Rock music review

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Irish eyes were smiling in Saratoga on Sunday night.

The Irish Tenors finished their current tour and made their Saratoga debut in one stroke, satisfying every fan in the house in the process.

Ronan Tynan, Andrew Kearns and Finbar Wright rolled out ballads, comic tunes and plenty of sentimental favorites. Most of the latter either came from, or referred to, the Auld Sod, but some, like ``Love Me Tender,'' were clearly done just for the fun of it.

The Tenors actually owe some of their success to their song selection. Their set list leans toward the obvious, even if the crowd is a little too intimidated by their fine voices to sing along. But the Tenors also offer a sophisticated alternative to the hard-partying Irish sounds so common at area haunts like The Parting Glass, McGeary's and The Pig & Pickerel.

Suffice to say, no one was swinging a beer and puffing a cigar at SPAC -- even if a few secretly wished they were.

The gentleman divvied up the night into trios and solos, with each getting a chance to show off his abilities on a variety of tunes.

Kearns for example, jumped from the swoon of ``I'll Take You Home With Me Again Kathleen'' to the lilt of ``South of the Border.''

Wright, who has the rambunctious edge of a classic Irish tenor, offered the romping ``Maggie'' as well as the operatic ``Eileen Mahoney.''

And Ronan Tynan -- the biggest the cut-up of the bunch -- was sweet on ``The Last Rose of Summer'' and positively inspirational on Phil Coulter's ``Scorn Not His Simplicity.''

Tynan gave ``Scorn'' his all, lifting the lyric to its heights.

He dedicated the song to ``those of you who have a physically or mentally challenged child in your family,'' and he should know about such difficulties. Tynan walks on prosthetic legs, and while his condition lent a gravity to ``Scorn,'' it also lent a levity to the evening.

``One thing about me,'' Tynan laughed, ``is I'm adjustable.''

He also challenged Kearns at one point, by saying, ``would you have a dance with me.''

Another inspirational tune scored the biggest response of the evening.

``Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears,'' which was the theme song of the PBS special, ``Ellis Island,'' struck a note with every American heart in the audience. ``Isle'' encapsulates so many of the feelings engendered by the Ellis Island experience, and the Tenors' voice brought those emotions to life.

Cheerier group highlights included the aforementioned ``Love Me Tender,'' the smile-inducing ``toora-looras'' of ``The Spanish Lady'' and, of course, the clap-a-long classic, ``Whiskey in the Jar.''

THE IRISH TENORS

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs.

Musical highlights: Ronan Tynan's lovely reading of Phil Coulter's ``Scorn Not His Simplicity'' was inspiring, and Anthony Kearn's shimmering reading of ``She Moved Through The Fair'' was quietly wonderful.

The crowd: The Tenors, no big surprise, brought out an older crowd than their rowdier Celtic counterparts.