Tenor Anthony Kearns to Perform at Friends of Ireland Luncheon on March 15, 2018

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- World-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns will perform at this year's Friends of Ireland luncheon to be hosted by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Thursday, March 15, 2018 at the United States Capitol, it was announced today.

As announced by the Speaker's office, "President Donald Trump and Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland Leo Varadkar are scheduled to participate as an ode to St. Patrick's Day and strong U.S.-Ireland ties. This is the third year that Speaker Ryan will host this event."

The annual event is a time-honored tradition started in 1983 by House Speaker Tip O'Neill and President Ronald Reagan, who rose above politics to unite in their shared heritage and desire for peace.

"It is indeed a privilege to accept the invitation of Speaker Ryan to sing for the Friends of Ireland Luncheon which highlights the shared history and enduring affection between Ireland and America," said Mr. Kearns. "I hope to express that closeness through my music on this special occasion." 

He will be accompanied by Jon Laird of Virginia.

Mr. Kearns previously performed at the 2013 Friends of Ireland Luncheon on March 19, 2013, hosted by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Special guests included President Barack Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny among other distinguished attendees.

Mr. Kearns first took the American television audience by storm in 1999 as the youngest member of The Irish Tenors, whose extraordinary collaborations include 5 television specials and a dozen CDs, most reaching Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum status. Now living in the U.S., Kearns enjoys a robust international solo career, performing in the world's most prominent venues with the finest symphonies, in operas, on television, and at prestigious charity benefits. He has had the honor to sing for three U.S. Presidents, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and at the pre-Mass Concert for Pope Francis I in Philadelphia.

A legendary interpreter of Irish vocal music and a powerful operatic and classical voice on the global stage, Mr. Kearns is considered to be a musical ambassador on both sides of the Atlantic, with a large repertoire of inspiring songs that has guided the Irish people and people of faith through famines, wars, migrations and tyranny, raising their spirits, nourishing their hopes, and sustaining their courage. In 2016, Kearns was honored to be a part of the centennial celebration of Irish emancipation in New York City, and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

For more information about Anthony Kearns, contact Kirsten Fedewa (on behalf of Anthony Kearns) at 202.365.6965 or [email protected]

SOURCE Kirsten Fedewa (on behalf of Anthony Kearns)