Damian McGinty: “When you get to a certain level of notoriety, you realise that it doesn't necessarily bring contentment"

At the time of our conversation, multitalented Damian McGinty is on the road with his band Celtic Thunder. Fresh off the release of his own solo EP Lean Into Love, he picks up the phone from Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Beginning his career at aged 14, Damian has been in the entertainment industry for 17 years. He started off with Celtic Thunder, before getting his acting career going with a role in the hit musical series Glee at 16. He's clearly no stranger to the limelight, both at home and internationally. Very much Derry's answer to Gene Kelly, Damian refuses to limit himself to any single career path.

“I try to get the balance right, but there's no question there’s times where I don't," he says. "I try to make objective decisions and stick to them. When we knew that my daughter Daisy was going to be born in March, I said that no matter what comes in the door I'm saying no. I told myself that I deserved the witness the first three months of my daughter's life. I deserve to be in the one place and not travelling. I've been doing this career now since I was 14, I know the way things work is like Murphy's Law. Whenever you don't want a project, something comes through the door.”

Becoming a father is one of the key themes on his new EP Lean into Love, which came out in October.

“Me and my wife's lives changed a lot now that we've brought our daughter into the world. It was a journey of going through so many emotions. No one day is the same. There are days where I was excited, days where I felt scared, days where I felt fear, anxiety, joy, whatever it might be. It's something that's displayed all in those five little songs.

“Family life was definitely the inspiration for the EP. It really felt like a fresh start, a complete new chapter. I wanted to capture that idea and represent it sonically. In terms of parenting, we're learning every day, it's challenging as much as it is the best thing that's ever happened to us.

“Something that always feels nice about releasing a project yourself is freedom and choice with your material. It's not something that you do because you feel like you have to. When you feel inspired to create it needs to be honed. It's a skill set that has to be worked on over the years. I treat my song writing like it's a 9-5, so I can be good enough to capture it appropriately when inspiration does strike.”

Despite being based in Nashville, Damian is constantly working with an team of Irish musicians. Writer and producer Mark Caplice is his "go to" and co-wrote the track ‘10,000 Days’.

“I have a really healthy blend of Nashville and Ireland, which is exactly where I want it to sit, because that is going to be my life now. I am raising an Irish-American family, my daughter was born in Nashville but she will be in Ireland a lot. Everything on this EP sonically and lyrically reflects where I am in my life right now.”

Though he's toured across America and Canada for a number of years with Celtic Thunder, Damian is is yet to complete an Irish tour of his solo material.

“I would love to tour Ireland at some point, I've been saying I want to transfer the workload a little bit to Ireland, so that began with Dancing with the Stars," he says. "Me and my wife have gotten a place in Derry, which was on the cards for a while but we finally did it this year. Next year I'll be in Ireland March-May and again in November and December in 2025. I'd say I will definitely end up doing a few solo shows. I am always up for it.”

 

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After several years living in Nashville, Damian had the opportunity to come home when he competed on Dancing with the Stars last January, the first time the he'd ever spent an extended period of time in Dublin.

“I loved being in Dublin, getting to live there for five months was special," he says. "I had a conversation with my wife Anna-Claire, saying we might only be here for 2 weeks, which felt realistic, I didn’t know how good or bad I would be. I had been offered the gig before, but this time it just felt like something I wanted to do. I really wanted to give it a go and enjoy the project. I was afraid going into it because I genuinely could not dance, but of course I can't say that anymore! I have to give credit to my partner, Kylee Vincent, she turned me into a dancer.”

One might expect that finding fame at a young age on The Glee Project and later on Glee would have negative effects on an impressionable teenager. Damian believes it did the opposite, giving him a deep understanding of the industry.

Damian McGinty on Glee in 2011

“Starting young helped in the long run, but it did come with some major challenges. There are always a few pivotal moments that you look back at, that could definitely have led me down some wrong paths at that age. I am fortunate that I feel like I made the right decisions."

Glee massed millions of views per episode all over the world, with the show continuing to influence pop culture nearly 10 years after its final episode. I ask Damian how it felt receiving instant fame from his role as Rory Flanagan.

"With Glee came an uncomfortable amount of fame. It was weird because I was famous because of the show, not because I was Damian McGinty. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it was Rory Flanagan, and I had to be playing Rory Flanagan at all times. People only cared because of that, they cared for Rory and not Damian.

"When you get to a certain level of notoriety, you realise that it doesn't necessarily bring contentment. That was my takeaway from the experience and it helped me move forward in my career. If one project is more famous than another, it is not going to change my life for the better. For me, fame doesn't bring contentment, it doesn't bring happiness. I really base projects on if I want to do it, am I going to enjoy it and obviously if it will make a living for my family.”

 

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• Listen to Damian McGinty’s EP Lean Into Love below: