Celtic Thunder is one of the most prominent Irish music acts in the United States, but what is their most popular Irish song?
The group attracts more than 160,000 monthly listeners on Spotify with several songs boasting more than one million plays.
Celtic Thunder also attracts a large audience on YouTube, with dozens of videos generating more than one million views.
But what is the group's most popular Irish song? The answer varies depending on what platform you listen to.
"A Place in the Choir" is by far Celtic Thunder's most popular song on Spotify. With more than 6.6 million plays, the song is easily the group's most popular hit on the music-streaming platform. However, the song was written by American singer-songwriter Bill Staines and so can't technically be classed as an Irish song.
Thus, the honor of most popular Irish song goes to "Galway Girl" - a track that has been covered by artists around the world.
"Galway Girl" was written by American artist Steve Earl and Irish musician Sharon Shannon and the song has enjoyed enormous staying power, with dozens of renowned artists releasing their own take on the famous song.
Celtic Thunder covered the track on their 2011 album "Heritage" and regularly perform it at their famous live events, making it one of their most popular Irish tunes.
However, the song is not the most popular Celtic Thunder track on Spotify at present. Instead, their cover of the Dubliners' "Seven Drunken Nights" has been a recent favorite for Celtic Thunder fans.
Meanwhile, the group's performance of "Heartland" in 2011 is their most popular Irish song on YouTube, with more than 18 million views.
The song features an Irish language chorus that translates to "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy" and is the group's most-viewed Irish song on YouTube by some seven million views.
What is your favorite Celtic Thunder song? Let us know in the comments!
*Originally published in March 2021. Updated in August 2023.
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