I can't be there. I wish I was. Thank you for posting this.
More about Ronan Tynan
Though Ronan Tynan’s singing career has made him a star, his personal story of triumph in the face of adversity is the stuff of which legends are made. The subject of an ABC-TV 20/20 profile, Barbara Walters stated, "Here on 20/20, we’ve told you about a lot of incredible people, but we have never profiled anyone with the accomplishments of the man you’re about to meet. Most people believed he wouldn’t even be able to earn a living, but what he has done is so amazing you may find it hard to believe. It’s a wonderful story".
Ronan was born forty years ago with lower limb disability. When he was twenty, his legs had to be amputated below the knee after an auto accident caused complications. Just weeks after the operation, he was climbing up the steps of his college dorm. Within a year, he was winning gold medals in the disabled games. Between 1981 and 1984, Ronan amassed eighteen gold medals and fourteen world records.
It was this kind of determination that soon propelled him to conquer a whole new field. He became the first disabled person ever admitted to the National College of Physical Education, and then a full-fledged Medical Doctor, specializing in Orthopedic Sports Injuries, with a degree from prestigious Trinity College.
Encouraged to study voice by his father, Ronan won both the John McCormick Cup for Tenor Voice and the BBC talent show Go For It less than one year after beginning to study music. The following year, Ronan won the prestigious International Operatic Singing Competition in Maumarde, France. His debut Sony album became a top five hit in two weeks, going platinum shortly thereafter. Ronan has just completed his autobiography to be published in February of 2001. Ronan’s second solo CD; will also be distributed worldwide in February 2001.
Ronan says "I want people to realize that regardless of what infirmity or disability, it should never stop you from doing what you want to do. You can mentally make your mind strong enough to overcome any obstacle that comes your way. Make a deal with yourself to take risks, because when you do and it come out right, boy it’s some buzz!."