Only last week I went along as a paying audience member to see these lads perform at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane.
I liked the look of their video clips that kept appearing in my QPAC feed. I’m Irish, Brisbane-based. Queensland was hosting the Australasian Gaelic Athletic Championships that weekend. I fancied some good Irish music before I spent three days watching the hurling matches.
I knew nothing about the Shamrock Tenors. I wasn’t there as a reviewer so I wasn’t obligated to research them. They were playing at QPAC for one night only.
Seated, awaiting the show, I had no idea why they’d selected the Giant’s Causeway as a huge backdrop. The reason became clear.
I knew nothing about the band that was backing them. It was immediately obvious to me that they were class. They were seething with seasoned experience and instrumental professionalism.
The singers joyously jogged out on to the stage. To me, they were unknowns, total strangers. It didn’t matter. I was not on duty.
Instantly, I recognised the distinct Northern Irish accents. My family is from Belfast. I was surprised when they announced that they were from ‘opposing sides’ of the conflict. How confusing. I was raised a Republican. My family hail from the hard hit Lower Falls area.
I agreed with their statement that 30 years ago, the formation of their group would not have been possible. Thank God, the peace process has successfully moved things forward. But of all the places I’ve been in the world, I’ve never been ‘up the Shankhill’.
When I moved back to Ireland with an Australian born, six year old, we settled in the south. The Connacht Gaeltacht. Waves, winds and shrieking seabirds.
When I told my son that we were going to Belfast to see family, I was taken aback by his vehement resistance. He said to me, You want me shot! You want me killed! You want my head blown right off! Don’t you? I’ve no idea where he sourced his information. Suffice to say that like his mother, he was an early reader. Somehow, he’d acquired a perspective of Belfast which was not positive.
I sat in my seat there at QPAC half expecting to hear a mix of rebel songs from both sides of the Peace Wall. I prepared myself for The Sash My Father Wore.
The single Protestant song sung that night was dedicated to our ANZACs as the Shamrock Tenors stood rigidly to attention, like the soldiers they were honouring.
Then they unleashed upon the audience a sudden hurricane of Irish trad songs. Pub faves. Crowd rousers. They are skilled performers, great at connecting with an audience: emanating warmth, eliciting an excited response. In Brisbane, they received a standing ovation from ‘their biggest audience so far’.
I loved the Shamrock Tenors show so much, that somehow, tonight I ended up at Sydney Opera House in my official, professional capacity as critic.
I was nervous. I’d seen them in my Facebook feed performing at pop up ‘sessions’ around Sydney. I associate sessions with excessive drinking of strong alcohol. I feared for them and that Irish tendency towards rapid intoxication and destruction of dreams.
My guest for the evening was Irish. A calm, sensible, practical sort of person with a steady outlook on life. I was feeling reviewer nerves.
“What if they’ve been drinking constantly since arriving in Sydney?” I asked fearfully. ‘What if they walk out blind drunk on to the stage and knock things over and can’t sing a note?’
My guest was unfazed, calmly replying, ‘They’re professionals. They’re performing at the Sydney Opera House. The chance of a lifetime. They’re not going to blow that opportunity.’
They didn’t. They were incredible and they seemed stone sober. The audience loved them. Just like at QPAC, they received another standing ovation. A triumph. A career highlight. A big addition to their impressive bios.
The group formed in 2018. Their vocals are tight, their harmonies divine, their sense of timing impeccable. They have everything going for them but they’re not yet completely polished. They have not yet reached or realised their full potential. But they will. I don’t doubt that.
Bravo boys! You did the nation proud.
Shamrock Tenors
Concert Hall – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Performance: Wednesday 8 October 2025
Information: www.shamrocktenors.com
Image: Shamrock Tenors (supplied)
Review: Michele-Rose Boylan