Shamrock Tenors bring Irish tunes, original songs to the Paramount for first American tour

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The grass is always greener, even if you're from Ireland. Raymond Walsh is viewing America through green tinted lenses, but who can blame him? It's the Shamrock Tenor's first tour of America, and Walsh is ecstatic.

"We've never seen anything like what we're seeing in America," Walsh said while calling from Manhattan, Kansas. "We're pulling into gas stations in Kansas, and there's St. Patrick's Day decorations everywhere. We get St. Patrick's Day in Ireland for a day. In America, it's a month-long celebration of St. Patrick's Day. We've never seen anything like it."

The Shamrock Tenors, who formed in Belfast in 2018, hoped to make its American debut years ago, but the pandemic delayed the initial tour.

"COVID stalled things, but we finally put it together to tour America," Walsh said. "We couldn't be more excited."

The Shamrock Tenors, which will perform Thursday at the Paramount Theatre, delivers traditional Irish tunes, ranging from "Danny Boy" to "Whiskey in a Jar," and original songs. The songs are buoyed by their five-part harmonies.

"We do our best to represent Irish music," Walsh said. "We'll perform the timeless classics. We have fun up on stage. We try to make it feel like we're one big family playing in a pub."

The Shamrock Tenors, which also include Jimmy Johnston, Tom Brandon, Matthew Campbell and Raymond Walsh's brother, Jack Walsh, represent Catholics and Protestants. The members of the band recall what it was like growing up in war torn Belfast.

During the 1990s, Northern Ireland suffered through a number of car bombings and sectarian attacks perpetrated by paramilitary groups on both sides, such as the Provisional IRA and the Ulster Volunteer Force. Hundreds of civilians were among the dead.

The attacks subsided with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which created a framework for political power-sharing and an end to decades of violence.

"I was aware of what was going on when I was a child," Walsh said. "I went to a mixed school. I was brought up Catholic and had friends on both sides. But things got better and now I feel safer in Belfast than I do in London. We're much more together in Northern Ireland."

America is a divided country, but Walsh hopes the Shamrock Tenor's music will bring people together. "Our message of getting together as opposed to being so far apart is important right now," Walsh said. "Maybe our country can be an example of hope of what can be achieved by acceptance and tolerance. It wasn't that way a short time ago, but things have changed in Ireland, and they can change in America. So I hope people can come out and see us in Iowa for a night and just forget about whatever they're worried about. Leave your troubles at the door and have fun. I know we're having the time of our lives here."

Like iconic Irish rock band U2, the members of Shamrock Tenors are wide-eyed when traveling through America. "It's like a number of different countries here," Walsh said. "In Ireland, you can drive from the top to the bottom of the country in seven hours."

Walsh, 34, is enjoying American fare, but he's trying not to over indulge. "I'm trying to navigate the fried food here," Walsh said. "Everything is so delicious and the portions are much bigger than what is served in Ireland. It's wonderful here. I can see why people have come to America to live and pursue their dream."

The catchy original tune, "Mary" is inspired by "The Friends' Goodwill," which was the first passenger ship to leave Ulster, Ireland, to successfully travel to America in 1717.

"The song tells the story of a guy, who leaves Ireland in search of a better life and the lure of America," Walsh said. "America is always changing, but it still has that lure."