Born in Dublin, Ireland, Ciaran grew up on both sides of the Atlantic dividing time between Dublin and New York City. Ciaran comes from a family of famed singers, instrumentalists, and composers; no surprise music and theatre had a place in his future. As a child he sang in his church’s boy choir and at the age of seven was chosen to tour with a special scholar group entertaining in hospitals and retirement communities, singing in many different languages. At the age of ten his family moved permanently to Dublin and Ciaran stopped singing until the age of sixteen when he returned to the US. At sixteen he joined his first rock band made up of high school friends and during his college years he fronted a heavy metal band playing metal and rock clubs in the Northeast of the US.
At the age of twenty Ciaran experienced a life changing event. In Asbury Park, NJ he was in a horrific car accident; with his back broken in three places he had a near death experience. His time recuperating gave him a new focus on life and he began to gain more of an interest in acting and eventually found himself studying with Meisner disciple Kathryn Gately in NYC. Later he had the great privilege of studying and working with Broadway director and The Actors Studio founder Bobby Lewis. For a number of years Ciaran focused solely on his acting and set singing aside completely.
Theatre
After an introduction to The Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC Ciaran met legendary Broadway director Harold Prince during The Rep’s production of Hal’s award winning play “Grandchild of Kings” (The Irish Repertory Company). Hal was very much a mentor to Ciaran, guiding him to voice teachers with a goal of eventually putting him on Broadway, which happened six months after meeting Hal. Ciaran made his Broadway debut in “Les Miserables” (Babet, Marius), and shortly thereafter Prince cast Ciaran as Raoul in “The Phantom of the Opera.” After a year of playing Raoul on Broadway, Ciaran then starred in the coveted role of The Phantom. Sheehan sang the role of the Phantom in over 1000 performances during the cours e of two and a half years both on Broadway and in Toronto. Currently Ciaran studies voice with David Jones in NYC.
Other New York stage appearances include...
Among Ciaran’s most memorable engagements have been...The Hostage (Shaughnessy), The Irish…and how they got that way (Ciaran)
Byzantium (W.B. Yeats). Television performances – “Ciaran and friends” (PBS) “From Galway to Broadway” (PBS) The Irish … and how they got that way (PBS) Late Night with David Letterman (CBS) Law & Order (NBC)
Four Sold Out performances at Carnegie Hall, Performing the American National Anthem at - New York State Governor George Pataki’s inauguration, Giants Stadium (Giants), Continental Arena (Nets), and Hubert H. H umphrey Metrodome (Twins), opening the dedication of the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York City, and soloist at the internationally televised memorial mass for John and Carolyn Kennedy Jr. One of his biggest thrills was standing on the infield of old Yankee Stadium to serenade Ed and Allison Lucas during their wedding ceremony: the only one ever held on the field of old Yankee Stadium.
Look for Ciaran's new PBS special entitled “Ciaran and friends” this spring. It features a band made up of many friends – Gabriel Donohue, David Holcenberg, Andrew Sherman, Jerry O’Sullivan, Ben Wittman, Dana Lyn, Jody Redhage, and Mat Fieldes.
