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1-5-2014 'It's changed mylife' - Singing Meath priest at thecentre of global record company battle for upcoming album - Independent.ie
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'It's changed my life' - Singing Meath
priest at the centre of global record
company battle for upcoming album
Denise Calnan – Published 01 May 2014 10:45 AM
Two record companies are fighting for Meath’s singing priest Father Ray Kelly’s signature for an upcoming
album.
Father Kelly, who sang his own version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ at a recent Irish wedding, is a
globally-known face since the video went viral online.
The clip, which has since been removed from YouTube, has even featured on Japanese news networks.
“I suppose it has changed my life,” he said this morning.
“The video had 34 million YouTube hits before it was removed. I will have that 34 million on my CV for the
rest of my life whether I like it or not,” he laughed.
“Both Universal and Sony are looking for me to sign contracts for an album.”
The priest said he has been inundated with performance requests from around the world and is travelling
to New York next week to perform at the Irish Emigrants’ concert.
“I was also up in a studio on Tuesday night at quarter past eleven for a piece that was going out on
breakfast time radio in Australia,” he told the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM.
Father Kelly said his small church in Oldcastle, Co Meath has been welcoming visitors from around the
country for mass.
“I’ve been hearing reports from people coming from Wicklow for mass and staying in B&B the night before
and people coming from Dublin for mass too,” he continued.
Father Ray Kelly stole the show at Chris and Leah O'Kane's wedding with his own rendition of the hit
song, but said he won’t be doing anything similar for the upcoming First Holy Communions in Meath.
“I might sing the Our Father with the girls and boys,” he said.
“And we might sing Westlife’s ‘I Have A Dream’.
