May 10, 2013 By Antonia Cekada for The 4 min read

Cahal Dunne was just about to catch his break as a singer in Ireland when a recession hit the country in the 1980s.

The setback forced Dunne to make a life decision — he could either remain in Ireland as a school teacher or immigrate to the United States for a better chance to pursue his dream in entertainment.

Holding on to hope by a string, Dunne bought the cheapest flight to the states he could get and ended up in Chicago. There, he did some on-the-spot auditions until he landed a few jobs entertaining at various restaurants. Eventually, and thanks to his role of being the nephew of Jack Lynch, Ireland’s former Prime Minister, Dunne soon landed a job entertaining at the Blarney Stone Restaurant in Etna.

“It was the one and only time the name has ever helped me,” said Dunne. “I actually got beaten up over it a lot in Ireland because his decisions were not popular there.”

Now more than 20 years later, Dunne has fulfilled his dream and will make an appearance in Greensburg for his show, “Cahal Dunne’s Proud to be Irish.”

Looking back at his job at the Blarney Stone, Dunne said he realizes owner Tom O’ Donoghue wasn’t as much interested in his uncle’s name as he was about Lynch’s athletic reputation.

“Lynch won what would be equivalent to seven United States Super Bowls, and he was pretty interested in that,” said Dunne.

Born in Cork County in the province of Munster, Dunne grew up in the 1950s, and as he recalls, it was a time when there was no television. Fortunately though for Dunne, his family had inherited his grandmother’s piano.

“I was just fascinated with that piano,” he said. “I learned my first song at 3 years old.”

Dunne went on to earn a bachelor of music degree from University College of Cork in 1974. Two years later, Dunne had the honor of representing Ireland in the Yamaha World Song contest with a song he wrote titled “Lover, not Just a Wife.” But it was winning Ireland’s National Song contest in 1979 that led him to what he now credits as his biggest career break.

“The contest is equivalent to ‘American Idol’,” he said. “It’s a really big deal in Ireland.”

Dunne won the contest with his song “Happy Man,” which earned him the right to represent Ireland at the International Eurovision Music contest in Israel, launching “Happy Man” to the No. 1 spot in Ireland and Europe. Abba and Celine Dion also got their breaks from the contest.

“Eurovision isn’t known in America, but it’s the biggest song contest in the world. It was an honor and my biggest break,” said Dunne.

Dunne now lives in Pittsburgh after being warned by O’Donoghue that he would love the city.

“Pittsburgh is very much like Ireland with all the green hillsides and the people here are very friendly,” he said.

Aside from writing a book about his journey, Dunne tours across the country as a comedian, pianist, story teller and composer.

“I developed this style to do a little bit of everything because it saves the voice,” he said. “When I first started, I couldn’t sing 5-6 nights a week from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. so I started incorporating other things into my act to save my voice.”

Fans who attend the show can expect great music, laughter and for Dunne to change into exactly eight different jackets, all made in Pennsylvania.

“I just hope that people can forget about their own problems for a few hours,” said Dunne. “They charge my batteries, and I hope that’s a two-way deal.”