Double Emmy joy for singer Matthew

Double Emmy joy for singer Matthew

16 July 2025

A DOWNPATRICK man has won two Emmy Awards as part of his thriving cross-community band.

Matthew Campbell is one fifth of The Shamrock Tenors, a harmony and multi-instrumentalist group also consisting of Lisburn brothers Raymond and Jack Walsh, Jamie Johnston from Larne and Rostrevor’s Tom Brandon.

Their show, entitled Shamrock Tenors – Live From Belfast, was honoured by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recently.

The show was filmed in the Ulster Hall and was also broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland. 

The five-piece are known for blending timeless Irish classics like The Wild Rover, Whiskey in the Jar, and Dirty Old Town with more contemporary hits from artists such as Van Morrison and U2 as well as their own original songs.

The TV special was produced by Raymond and Jack’s production company, Walsh Entertainment, for the American network PBS, with the TV awards ceremony being held in Detroit, Michigan.

The show won two categories, including best Overall Entertainment programme, for which the band along with co-director Sam Kwan received statuettes, as well as Best Audio Production for Matthew and Jack. Raymond and Sam were also runners up in the Director of a Live or Recorded Live category.

Local man Matthew, 29, has been singing all his life and made a name for himself with the St Patrick’s Choral Society.

“I was always a part of the choral society. Then seven years ago I filled in for someone in The Shamrock Tenors and then just never left,” he explained. 

Studying Music at Queen’s University Belfast, Matthew joined the band in 2018 and has toured and performed extensively as a singer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist.

In the past, he has worked with respected performers including Peter Corry, Malachi Cush, Andrea Begley, Donna Taggart, Karl McGuckin and more recently alongside Liam Lawton and Phil Coulter.

When he finds time away from the Shamrock Tenors, Matthew is a much sought-after musical director and vocal coach.

Raymond and Jack attended the recent awards ceremony in Detroit while Matthew, Jimmy and Tom finished off their run of cruise ship shows.

“Being from Northern Ireland, the Emmys wasn’t something we ever thought about,” he said.

“Because of the time difference I was asleep when the winners were announced and was in a confused state when I saw that we had won. 

“It didn’t properly sink in until we got the awards shipped over to us and I could see them.”

Having returned from their debut 28 city North American tour playing to thousands across the continent earlier this year, the group also made a landmark appearance on NBC’s Today Show, America’s most-watched breakfast programme, live from the Rockefeller Center in New York on St Patrick’s Day to over 10 million people.

“Many of those who came to our shows in the US had bought tickets after seeing the TV special,” Matthew said.  “It had helped to put our name on the map.

“For the Today Show we had to be in New York at 3am, because there was so much going on on St Patrick’s Day.

“We got a huge reaction that we didn’t expect, it was crazy.

“It was what we had always hoped for as a cross-community band, it was very humbling.”

The band has performed in at least 30 countries around the world to date.

Next month they are set to embark on a two-month tour of Australia, which will include a headline show in the Main Hall of the Sydney Opera House before heading back to the USA to perform a residency at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

“We’ll take any opportunity to show that Northern Ireland is not just what people have read about in the history books,” Matthew said.

Shamrock Tenors – Live From Belfast is available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer.