Celtic Thunder, the all-male Irish (and Scottish) super group, has arrived to take America by storm. But forget chunky Aran sweaters and shining Tara pins. These lads wear Armani - even when it comes to their kilts. CAHIR O'DOHERTY meets them in New York.

YOU know you've hit the big time when you meet your first stalker. For Celtic Thunder, the group of four conspicuously handsome young Irishmen (and one Scot) currently making their U.S. debut, the moment arrived last week when they made their first ever public appearances in New York. "Some of the fans just found out which hotel we're staying in," says Keith Harkin, the angelic looking 21-year-old singer from Derry distinguished by his retro Rod Stewart blond shag.

"There's a few Celtic Thunder discussion boards on the Internet. So the fans discovered where we're staying tonight and they just turned up in the lobby waiting, like."

Screams followed, and then breathless requests for autographs. That's a very different kind of reaction to the type traditional bands like the Dubliners usually get, but from the beginning Celtic Thunder was always going to be different.

An unstoppable juggernaut of looks, creamy Irish charm and honest to God singing talent, expect the whole world to be enslaved by 2009.

Created and produced by famous Irish producer Sharon Browne, the group range in ages from 14 to 40, and they all share a common Celtic heritage. But in terms of audience reaction they have more in common with Irish pop sensations like Westlife then the Three Tenors.

Making their U.S. debut with a PBS television special airing nationwide throughout the month of March, the big budget show features the talents of the five vocalists Damian McGinty, Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, Paul Byrom and George Donaldson performing an eclectic mix of songs, ranging from the traditional "Mountains of Mourne" and "Come By the Hills" to pop hits like "Brothers in Arms" and "Desperado," as well as original compositions by Celtic Thunder's musical director and composer, the legendary Phil Coulter, who knows a thing or two about promoting heartthrobs.

"We're five solo artists that come together to perform a show," says Harkin, who is already sounding like a seasoned professional.

"It's five different styles of singing too," adds Byrom, the 28-year-old Dubliner. "George is a very ballady sort of singer, Keith is more pop orientated, Ryan has a very musical theater voice, I do more classical crossover pieces and Damien, the youngest one, is just ach, would you look at him!"

It was a challenge putting the five voices together in the beginning, but the band members freely admit they compliment each other now. From the start they were given a great deal of creative freedom to express themselves, picking out their own onstage clothes and having final call over what they do when they're actually singing solo onstage.

In their first ever live concert, which was filmed before a home crowd of family, friends and supporters at Dublin's Helix concert venue, the group's unique sound and presentational style quickly took shape.

Within minutes it was clear to all that although they have a deep respect for Irish tradition, as is reflected in their song choices and performance styles, they're not going to be singing about beer and shamrocks - and they're not afraid to truly rock out when the moment calls for it.

Says Byrom, "I really thought the audience would be skeptical in the beginning to be honest, but by the end of the night they were all up on their feet dancing. I think they respected that we're not going to be going down the road of the 'Toura Loura Loura' stuff.

"We want to make it interesting for us and them. So even though we wear kilts they're cool ones, with black leather hand made boots, you know?"

Byrom began his own career at an early age with voice study and training under the Veronica Dunne, Ireland's renowned vocal teacher and leading lady of the opera. A professional singer by his early teens, in 2005 Byrom's debut album Velvet placed him at number two in the Irish music charts.

When the auditions for Celtic Thunder were announced last year, Coulter invited him to audition, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Harkin is a songwriter and guitarist who came to fame in his own right as the lead in the BBC drama Dha Theanga in 2006, where he composed the songs for the show. Returning to Derry for a visit last year, he heard about the auditions for Celtic Thunder on the day they were already in progress.

Turning up on spec just as they were finishing, he auditioned and was ultimately selected as one of the five soloists.

Says Harkin, "It's been a total rollercoaster for me the whole thing, to be honest. We're just enjoying it, and it's really taking off."

Currently the most frequently e-mailed member of the group, he's a bit overwhelmed by all the attention.

"You get so many e-mails and there's only so many you can hope to write back to," he says.

It's just a glimpse of what's to come. The only surprise is that it's all happening so quickly for them.

Ryan Kelly, 28, the Heathcliffe of the outfit, melds broodingly handsome looks with an accomplished musical background. Alongside his passion for Irish traditional music, he can belt out a Braodway showtune to bring the house down.

George Donaldson, 40, is a strapping self-taught musician who plays guitar, flute, mandolin, bodhran and banjo. Donaldson grew up in Glasgow where in 2001 he played in Celtic Park in front of 65,000 football fans and his delighted father.

A well-known singer in the Glasgow and west of Scotland folk scene, he has recorded folk sessions for BBC Scotland and the Glasgow West End Festival.

That leaves Damian McGinty, 14, the youngest member, still is in his third year of middle school in Derry. With a professionalism that belies his age, he recorded a solo CD and sent a copy of it to Coulter, who passed it to Browne.

As a result, he was invited to audition as a singer and won the post hands down. McGinty has cornered what the other member of the group call the "awww" factor.

But it hasn't all been fun and games. The group are very serious about their music and about bringing it to the widest possible audience - and they're certainly succeeding.

Celtic Thunder's recent appearance on public station WNET Channel 13 in New York gave the network its second highest rating of all time. That's exactly the kind of publicity coup that makes the music industry sit up and take notice.

Says Byrom, "I think Phil and Sharon have tried to prepare us for what happens when you start to get well known, but we never thought it would be as big as its potentially getting. We're not complaining. We're all young and living for the moment."

One of the greatest rewards for the group is that it's not just an Irish following they're attracting. What's really excites them now is that they're pulling in international audiences.

Says Byrom, "We each have five different looks and styles. The options for us are huge and we were all up for that, for the challenge of it just vocally, you know. It's exciting times and we're hugely optimistic about what the future holds."

For Harkin there are times when the rollercoaster takes him to places that he never dreamed of.

"I was standing last night in front of a bank of cameras on NBC as we were about to go live and I asked myself if this is really happening? I had to convince myself it all was," he says laughing.

Celtic Thunder is scheduled to play a 50-city U.S. tour in the fall. Meanwhile, their album and DVD Celtic Thunder The Show is now available on Decca Records.