Tony was born in Belfast, and raised in the UK. He studied piano, cello and conducting at Trinity College of Music, London, before turning to voice. He sang for a number of years in the choruses of Scottish Opera and Teatro Alla Scala, Milano. Tony and his partner Ann are due to marry in October, and they have an eight week old baby boy, Joshua. They live in Dublin with Ann's daughters, Sinead (17) and Leighann (14).

Tony and Ciaran are two of the five male vocalists starring in the brand new musical stage production, Druid, at the Helix Theatre on 17 and 18 March, along with Brian Dunphy, Eoin Brady and Simon Morgan.

Ciaran on Tony Tony and I met in 1996 through his former girlfriend Elizabeth, who was my good friend. We hit it off straight away, and discovered that we had a lot of common ideas. I thought he seemed like great fun, and was very passionate about his career and relationships, and he was very interesting, informed and educated. The friendship just grew when he moved to Ireland full-time.

The Three Irish Tenors came about because I was asked to put together an act for the opening of a theatre in Armagh. The first call I made was to Tony, because I knew he had what it took to make it into a fresh and exciting format from an Irish context. However, his first reaction was "No!" but after a bit more development of the idea, we gave it a try and the Three Irish Tenors was born. It's been a great success, and we discovered that we had a very good rapport, both off and on stage, which comes through in our performances, and our relationship is a true testament to the fact that a genuine friendship is paramount to the success of a performing group. We've had a couple of personnel changes over the years, but we've been fortunate that there was a fantastic dynamic within the group at all times. We are now both very excited about our new show, Druid, which celebrates both our cultural ancestry and our contemporary sophistication by combining old and new Celtic compositions. There are already 25 dates booked in the US for Druid, and it's great to travel the world with Tony as we're a wonderful support to one another . . . it can be hard being away from home and family.

Tony is one of the most loyal people I could ever hope to meet, and he believes in my blind ambition on all levels, personal and business. We've weathered a lot of stormy waters together, and are always there for one another. Tony has a great ability to challenge my views, and it gives me an extra perspective on things, which I need at times. We're not afraid to clash, and we've argued over politics, religion, family values, and performances. We will always be best friends though, and I couldn't imagine my world without Tony in it.

Tony on Ciaran When I first met Ciaran, there was no doubt in my mind that the craic was going to be mighty with him around. He is the first actual personal friend I made in our industry, where it wasn't instantly about the business. Ciaran is a very fine producer/director, and he doesn't always present all the aspects of a project to everyone involved until he's sure that everything is in place, so I've had to learn to trust him completely. He's an excellent judge of character, and he holds the overall vision on our work, much of which I'm a party to.

We have a great laugh when we're together, and one of the funniest things that happened was during a US concert. I was due to take the main strain on a song, but just before I went on, I got the runs. There was nothing I could do, but rush to the bathroom, and I could hear the music starting while I was sitting there with my dress trousers down around my patent leather shoes, and the coat tails hanging on the door. Ciaran had no idea what happened to me and he had to jump in and sing the song, although he had never sung it before. I was in hysterics laughing at the situation, and when I'd sorted myself out I walked on to the stage, and joined in the very last lines, which was a very vulgar thing to do really, but there was a big high C finish that I had to do.

Ciaran has a very strongly defined character, and has incredible determination and grit. I've learned that when he gets the bit between his teeth on a project, he's really going to go for it, so I know if I get bitten it's my own fault for getting into the pool with a shark! ! We have occasional rows and differences of opinion on business matters, and I can really do "temperamental", and go off and storm around my garden. Afterwards though, you'll find us out having dinner together, and dealing with the bigger issues in life, like the fact that we both have children. Or he'll buy me a cherry pie and a big tub of ice cream, and we'll sit and eat them watching a trashy movie in the back of the tour bus and everything will be grand.

I recently became a father, and Ciaran has been a real inspiration for me, seeing what a wonderful father he is to Laura. I really value his friendship and fidelity, because I could screw up monumentally in my life and make the worst decisions, and I know he'll always be there to help me pick up the pieces.