CELEB CHAT
Although he was once a man of the cloth, these days Finbar is one of the most sought after vocalists in the world. Interview: Olivia KeIleher

---

It is not every day that you are name checked on an award winning TV series but that is exactly what happened to the popular Irish Tenors. Cork born tenor Finbar Wright says the trio were "thrilled" when fan Martin Sheen, who plays American President Jed Bartlet in the West Wing managed to slip in their name on the hugely successfully show.

It seems Finbar's life has been interlinked with American presidents, both real and fictional. In recent months Finbar, Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan sang on Good Morning America on Capitol Hill to coincide with Ronald Reagan's funeral. Wright has also performed in front of Bill Clinton and surely a concert in the presence of President George W Bush will present itself within a year or two.

A modest man, Finbar, who is a father of two, still says he finds it hard to take in all of the good fortune which has come his way over the years.

"The excitement of being on Good Morning America on the day of Ronald Reagan's funeral is hard to describe. Nancy Reagan is a fan of the tenors so we just got a call. We were asked the day before and I flew from Ireland to do it. To have a chance to do a thing like that was great. To sing at such an important time in history. I have been lucky. I started taking music lessons when I was young and my teacher, Maura Hourihane, gave me the initial love for it. I have been spoilt over the years. I am incredibly fortunate that people are very appreciative of what I do," he says.




Finbar was born in Kinsale in 1957 and began his musical career at the age of six studying piano and theory of music. His late father, Robert, was a tenor and music was "always there" in his house.One of the guiding lights in his life has been his 91-year-old mother Julia, who still lives in Ballinspinle. Julia, he says, "gives hope" to anyone advancing in years, such is her strength of spirit. A lively woman she enjoys Finbar's work and navelled to see him perform in Killarney last year.

Finbar's formal studies in the vocal arts didn't begin until 1984 at the Cork School of Music. Before he was a professional singer, Finbar was a priest for seven years and taught Spanish and Latin. However, he decided a life in the Church wasn't for him and he left the priesthood in the late 1980s. He then emerged as one of Ireland's greatest singers, hosting a highly rated series for RTE and undertaking tours in Canada and the US.

Finbar was asked to join the Irish Tenors in 1998 but he was under contract with Sony and had to turn the offer down. However, like Pierce Brosnan and James Bond, life came full circle and the opportunity came his way again.

Wright was asked to join Tynan and Kearns when John McDermott left the tenors for fantily reasons in l2000 and he accepted instantly. Finbar enjoys touring with his fellow tenors and says there is great camaraderie on the road.

"We do get on well and it is nice to have people to talk to. We have had fun over the years. Once we were on PBS (Public Television in US) and there was a break between performing. We were chatting away in Irish, just passing comment on things, and there was a girl in the studio who was just inconsolable with laughter. Turns out she was from Donegal and she was really enjoying listening to us go on," he remembers.

Finbar thrives on his work but is keen to balance his professional commitments with his life at home in Farran, Co Cork. Married to Angela, the couple have two children, Fergus, 12, and Ileana, 10. Both Fergus and Ileana have a passion for music but neither Angela nor Finbar put any pressure on them to become professional musicians.

"Not at all. Being a professional musician was almost a matter of chance for me. It is practically accidental. You really have to love music and want to do it."

In his spare time Finbar likes to write poetry and is also interested in photography. However, his adoration of music is positively infectious and he has eclectic taste, citing Willie Nelson amongst his favourite artists.

He's also conscious of the fact that the Irish Tenors have a particular emotional resonance for the Irish abroad, many of whom yearn for a deeper connection with their homeland. The trio performed in an emotional concert on Ellis Island in New York a few years back. This was a day which ranked as one of the highlights of the group's career.

"A lot of what we do is bound up with the Irish abroad - their story and bond with Ireland which can go back generations.

There was a moment during the Ellis Island concert when the actor Martin Sheen, who was the host, said that his mother had come from Tipperary and passed through Ellis Island. She had come through as an emigrant. Then to see this man playing the American President - it's hard to imagine. It was an honour to perform that day."