[4] McGinty joined the newly formed Celtic Thunder in 2008 as a boy soprano at 14, and as he aged, developed a rich baritone, while still singing tenor and able to hit the high notes.
During the four years he was a member, the group did four tours of the US and Canada, six PBS TV specials, performed at the White House and sold over a million recordings, with McGinty on nine of the concert CDs and DVDs.
In 2015, McGinty returned as the Special Guest in the "Very Best of Celtic Thunder Tour" and took George Donaldson's place as a full member of the group in the newest concert, "Legacy".
[2] In 2011, McGinty was selected as one of the top twelve finalists, out of 40,000 contenders, in a Myspace audition search,[5] to be on the Oxygen reality show, The Glee Project.
[3] McGinty's rendition of "Beyond the Sea" impressed the judges, who selected him as co-winner along with Samuel Larsen for a seven episode arc on the third season of the Fox series Glee.
[8] In the third season of Glee, McGinty played Rory Flanagan, a foreign exchange student staying with Brittany S. Pierce's family and befriended by Finn Hudson.
[citation needed] McGinty and Máiréad Carlin sang the Derry City of Culture anthem "Let the River Run" at the BBC TV Gala Concert Sons and Daughters.
[17] Between 2008 and 2011, prior to his time on Glee, McGinty was in five PBS specials as a member of Celtic Thunder: The Show, It’s Entertainment, Christmas, Heritage and Storm.