The Priests release fourth album and Hollywood film in the pipleline

The PriestsPR

The Priests have sold 3.5million records

A flurry of “pope stars” headlines ensued and there was a delicious irony when The Priests’ first album outsold the latest release by Madonna, who has made a career out of her sinful image.

However 3.5million record sales by the trio, David Delargy and brothers Eugene and Martin O’Hagan, speaks volumes for their longevity.

There was a fourth album rereleased to coincide with Easter, tours are in the offing and a Hollywood movie based on their remarkable story in the pipeline.

There’s already a script for the film, provisionally called Raising The Roof, and the result will be a drama with a light touch that reflects the real-life priests’ mischievous sense of humour.

There may have been a novelty element to the release of the first album and the perceptions of the public

David Delargy

No one has yet been cast to play the 50-somethings from Northern Ireland but the three are in fine form as they bicker, tongue firmly in cheek, over who they’d most like to portray them on the big screen.

For David it has to be Liam ­Neeson, while Eugene picks Pierce Brosnan.

To gales of laughter from his fellow priests Martin adds: “For me it’s Brad Pitt, definitely.”

It’s all a far cry from the days when the three first met as teenage boarders at St MacNissi’s school in rural County Antrim, which is renowned for encouraging the performing arts.

The PriestsSONY

The film is provisionally called Raising The Roof

They were talent spotted, signed by Epic Records and their first album The Priests was a surprise hit in 2008.

The collection of spiritual arias became the fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act and was released in 32 countries.

David says: “There may have been a novelty element to the release of the first album and the perceptions of the public. It certainly captured the attention but the fact is that we have been singing together now for more than 40 years. All that was new for us was the commercial deal. Maybe some people bought the album out of curiosity and realised that these three lads are not bad, they can actually sing a bit.”

Martin admits: “We were quite taken aback with the response. We were initially expecting the album to be available in the UK and Ireland only so it was a real whirlwind for us when it went global. A new world opened up which we embraced with a sense of delight.”

They have performed in front of the Queen, were given permission to record in the Vatican and have been nominated for classical album of the year three times.

The PriestsGETTY

Their first album was The Priests in 2008

It’s written into their contracts that performing and recording is secondary to their ecclesiastical work.

David, 53, and Martin, 54, are both still parish priests, while 57-year-old Eugene is a church administrator.

If that means flying home early after performing in the US to conduct a parish funeral, as once happened to David, then so be it.

They have more than 80 years in the priesthood among them so there’s surely no questioning their commitment.

Eugene says: “We are still balancing everything and sometimes that can be difficult. It does cause pressure from time to time.”

The PriestsGETTY

Together they have more than 80 years in the priesthood

The priests say they are always mindful of their calling and thankfully there has been little criticism that releasing albums and rubbing shoulders with pop stars on red carpets and in TV studios is not befitting men of God.

“By and large the response to what we are doing has been very positive and supportive,” says David.

“You always get the odd individual who thinks that priests should stick to saying mass but that’s extremely rare. We try to make sure we are still available when needed in our parishes.”

Yet they make no excuses for enjoying experiences that would never have happened without their unexpected recording success.

“We ran into Take That at one concert we were doing for a TV programme,” adds David.

“That was a bit of a thrill and we’ve also met some of the real greats of classical music. Boy George was another pop star and we once crossed paths with Hugh Grant. You meet all sorts of people when you do chat shows and it’s very exciting.”

Swapping anecdotes with the American rock band The Killers was another highlight but there’s no danger of fame going to the heads of these stars.

Much of the money they make goes to their charitable trust, which has donated funds to the homeless and education projects in their homeland.

“There’s no flash cars I’m afraid, any flash jewellery or other bling,” says Eugene.

“We need to be quite restrained otherwise it would not be authentic.”

The Priests crossing roadGETTY

There has been little criticism that what they are doing is not benefitting men of God

Their music has been described as uplifting, while The Priests have met fans who say listening to their records has helped them rediscover their faith.

At concerts they blend the sacred and the secular, allowing them to reach out to wide audiences.

The latest album includes The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby as well as more recognisably holy numbers such as The Lord Is My Shepherd and Hallelujah Chorus.

They began their careers as priests when the Troubles were raging.

David has been firebombed in three of his parish churches and his housekeeper’s husband was shot dead in his own home.

Martin had not long been ordained when he was summoned to administer the last rites to a man shot in a feud between the IRA and the INLA (Irish National Liberation Army).

Northern Ireland is a more peaceful place now but religious differences are never far from the surface so The Priests hope their music helps build bridges.

Their music is for all, not just Catholics, they are keen to stress. Asked to put a finger on their appeal Eugene explains: “The pieces on our albums are very well known so they resonate with people. I think the three voices complement one another and we’ve all been trained to sing. By and large we get to choose our own music and we do like to introduce some contemporary songs.”

The PriestsGETTY

Their music has been described as uplifting

Martin adds: “I think our music has touched hearts. It has encouraged some individuals who have been following a different path to take a closer look at religion and think and reflect about life. We have a gentle way of trying to spread the message of Christ.”

The music industry is littered with cases of successful acts that have eventually fallen out.

The fact that two of The Priests are brothers adds possible family tensions – you only have to mention the Gallagher brothers in Oasis or the Davies siblings in The Kinks to see how toxic relations can become.

But this group insists that they are still best of friends and making music commercially is still great fun.

They want to keep going as long as there’s demand, they remain healthy and it’s still a blast.

Martin says: “Keeping that chemistry alive and nourishing it along the way is extremely important. We have our moments but can work through them and we’ve enjoyed some great times together.”

Certainly there has not been a case of The Priests trashing a hotel room.

“Not yet anyway,” laughs Eugene.

The Priests’ latest album Alleluia is available now from Amazon.

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Martin is an enthusiastic programmer, a webdeveloper and a young entrepreneur. He is intereted into computers for a long time. In the age of 10 he has programmed his first website and since then he has been working on web technologies until now. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BriefNews.eu and PCHealthBoost.info Online Magazines. His colleagues appreciate him as a passionate workhorse, a fan of new technologies, an eternal optimist and a dreamer, but especially the soul of the team for whom he can do anything in the world.

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