Irish musician Damian McGinty has spoken about the importance of staying grounded as he became a star from a young age.
The Derry singer joined supergroup Celtic Thunder when he was just 14 and has said he has his upbringing to thank that he has not been led astray.
McGinty went on to star in the hugely popular musical drama Glee and has spoken about the supposed ‘Glee curse’ that saw other members of the cast lose their lives.
Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson in the hit show, tragically died of a drug overdose in 2013 having struggled with substance abuse for much of his life.
Almost seven years later to the day, another Glee star Naya Rivera was found dead after a boating accident in California.
On the first anniversary of Rivera’s death, McGinty spoke about his late colleagues and the tragedy that they were taken too soon.
The 28-year-old said: “I knew these people, I knew them as human beings, the rest of the world know them as characters on a TV show.
“But I knew them behind those characters and it is incredibly sad.”
Unfortunately, those two tragedies are not the only deaths that have touched the cast and crew of Glee.
Jim Fuller, who worked as assistant director on the show died in his sleep in 2013, and the following year production assistant Nancy Motes took her own life.
Mark Salling who played Noah Puckerman committed suicide in 2018 after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography.
However, McGinty realises that each person can take their own path and make their own choices in life, particularly when they have a strong family support behind them.
He said: “It’s also, there’s always these things that go around about the Glee cast, because of just how it has played out for a lot of them.
“And ah look at the curse on the Glee cast, and whatever it might be, there are so many of those things that fly around.
“But I am like, guys these are real people, real life human beings, that unfortunately lost their lives.
“It’s incredibly sad, and just real tragedies that can never be forgotten or recovered. Great People.
“Cory was one of my favourite guys, I worked my whole first week with him and he was truly one of nicest guys, and Naya, had so much flair and talent.
“It is really sad.”
McGinty was thrust into the spotlight aged 14 when he joined Irish boyband Celtic Thunder.
He said: “It was a great experience and you learn a lot from it.
“That can also be defining.
“That type of fame at that age, sadly that can be fatal. And it is proven time and time again.
“So I think it is important to kind of sit back and be like, gained a lot of lessons from that, and learned a lot of mistakes.
To read more about the career of Damian McGinty then visit irishmusicdaily.com.
Damian McGinty : Those Were The Days Official Music Video
