A TRIO of singing priests dubbed a global musical phenomenon after signing a record deal have hung up their mics.
In 2008, Irish musician Liam Bradley set out to find a version of “Pavarotti in a collar”.
And this led Sony Epic Records to signing brothers Eugene and Martin O’Hagan from Derry, and their friend Fr David Delargy from Ballymena, Co Antrim.
President of the record company, Nick Raphael said: “There are certain things you look for in a recording artist.
“The Priests ticked none of the boxes, but when you see something that is magic, you break all the rules.”
But signing a three-album deal with Sony on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and recording their debut album in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome caught the world’s attention.
Soon The Priests were dubbed “a global musical phenomenon”.
Their debut album sold more than 1.5 million records and entered the Guinness Book of Records for the UK’s fastest selling debut classical album of all time.
Fr Eugene told The Irish Sun said the showbiz hype went from “10 to 100 in the space of a few weeks”.
He said: “Making that adjustment was daunting and challenging, exciting and frightening all at the same time.
“It was a mix of feelings and emotions as we realised when everything went public about the signing into the Sony Epic contract and the publicity surrounding it.
“We were all of a sudden catapulted into a world in which we had little experience or knowledge. So we had to learn very fast.”
Fr Martin added: “It was a whirlwind. We embraced the rollercoaster and we were suddenly plummeted into an entirely different galaxy.”
While their singing success soared, The Priests still continued with their work in the church and a clause in their showbiz contract said their day jobs had to come first ahead of their musical careers.
Fr Eugene told how his singing has helped reach others outside the parish over the years, especially during the times of The Troubles.
MUSIC OVERCOMES BIAS
He said: “Music, a bit like sport, is one of those areas where people from all kinds of walks of society could meet on an equal footing or meet without any bias.
“We grew up during the Troubles and the Troubles prevailed. Music. . . I always found it opened all sorts of doors.
“You were making music together with people from various different backgrounds and denominational backgrounds.
“It was a real equaliser. Everybody was the same. So you weren’t asking, ‘Are you a Catholic tenor or a Protestant tenor?’
“That didn’t count. You can either sing or you can’t sing.”
LAST GIG
Earlier this year, some 50 years after they first sang together, they performed their last-ever concert at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.
Fr Eugene recalled: “It was bittersweet in a sense. We wanted to go out with a bang, shall we say, with the Razzmatazz.
“We wanted a really good concert involving the artists who had worked with us over the years.
“So we had to focus on doing that concert and doing it well. And I suppose each of us dealt with that as we do.”
He added: “There were a few tears afterwards. We all kept ourselves as best we could because the last thing we wanted was for any one of us to take a wee turn on stage. That wouldn’t be professional.”
CHURCH WORK
Now back in their parishes they said the workload is bigger than ever.
Fr Eugene said: “Church attendance has slowly declined over the last few years and Covid-19 was a huge disruption.
“Some people have yet to return to church attendance and perhaps never will but they ‘follow’ online via webcams.
“That’s okay for those who cannot physically come to church but I think we’d all like to see more people returning to join with communities in prayer.
“There’s a great benefit, spiritual and social, in gathering together to pray, celebrate and, when a loved one passes, to mourn.”
He added: “Needless to say, and understandably, the clerical abuse scandals in the Irish Catholic Church haven’t helped.
“I remain positive in the hope that those who come to church, in whatever numbers, will find a warm welcome, a home and any accompaniment church men and women can offer.”
The Priests: Don’t Give up The Day Job? airs on the RTE player.
