Local Irish singer sings a few tunes at Wheaton store

Mary Landreth got the birthday present of a lifetime a couple years ago when friends asked Gavin Coyle to sing "Happy Birthday."

The local Irish singer and schoolteacher, who's made a name for himself by singing everywhere from area pubs to Chicago Cubs games and Spike O'Dell's radio program, was only supposed to stay for a song.

He ended up entertaining party goers for more than an hour.

"I don't even care if he's singing," Landreth said Saturday at JB Winterberry in Wheaton. "Just listening to that smooth Irish brogue is enough for me."

Coyle spent the afternoon signing autographs of some of his albums and playing a few tunes at the downtown Wheaton store.

"He's a close personal friend, so we asked him to come down and spend a day at the store," owner Barb Mueller said. "It's just another way for us to meet people in the neighborhood and bring them into the store."

While Coyle still remains fixed to his day job as a music teacher at St. Petronille Catholic School in Glen Ellyn, he keeps busy booking singing gigs throughout the year.

Among his collection of albums is a new compilation of songs from Broadway musicals and movies he released earlier this year entitled "Footlights: Songs of Stage and Screen."

"I'm blessed to know that people can appreciate my music," he said.