Redmond tenor to sing national anthem at North American Gaelic Games this Sunday in Seattle

Redmond-based Irish tenor Kim Cooney will sing the national anthem this Sunday afternoon at the hurling championship match at the North American Gaelic Games at Seattle's Magnuson Park.

August 30, 2016 2:42 pm
Redmond-based tenor Kim Cooney sings the national anthem at a Seattle Thunderbirds professional hockey team game. Courtesy of the Seattle Thunderbirds
Redmond-based tenor Kim Cooney sings the national anthem at a Seattle Thunderbirds professional hockey team game. Courtesy of the Seattle Thunderbirds

Redmond-based Irish tenor Kim Cooney will sing the national anthem this Sunday afternoon at the hurling championship match at the North American Gaelic Games at Seattle’s Magnuson Park.

The Seattle Gaels Gaelic Football team asked Cooney to sing the anthem for the final after hearing him sing on Irish Night in the home opener series of the Tacoma Rainiers (Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Major League Baseball Seattle Mariners) at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

The hurling finals take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Friday through Sunday. Magnuson Park is located at 7400 Sand Point Way N.E.

Tickets for one-day general admission are $10; children age 16 and under can attend free. Games on two of the five Magnuson fields are free to watch all three days and seniors can arrange for free all-day admission by contacting Seattle Irish Immigrant Support in advance at: tickets@irishclub.org.

Cooney has sung the United States and Canadian anthems for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. He will also sing the national anthem on Sept. 10 for the season football opener of the NCAA Div. III Linfield College Wildcats in McMinnville, Ore. (Linfield is the winningest team in college football with 60 straight winning seasons.)

A mini-documentary on “The Star-Spangled Banner” features Cooney’s setting of Francis Scott Key’s lyrics to the tune “Londonderry Air” (“Danny Boy”). A tribute to Irish-American warriors who have made a critical difference in battles for the cause of liberty in every American war, it aired worldwide on Midwest Irish Radio (County Cork) and is available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6oO9EVLC4I .

Cooney recently returned from a solo tour singing in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Church of Ireland and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worship services in cathedrals, basilicas and historic parish churches across Ireland and the Isle of Man.