Yahoo – AFP,
Sunday, May 03, 2015
OLDCASTLE,
Ireland - From an improvised studio in his house in a rural corner of Ireland,
Father Ray Kelly has become a global singing sensation and new fans now mingle
with long-time parishioners in his flock.
The
62-year-old clergyman's unexpected music career kicked off a year ago and now
includes a platinum-selling album, 42 million YouTube hits and chat show
appearances all across the world.
Twelve
months ago, Kelly sang a version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah' during a
wedding ceremony of an unsuspecting couple in his small parish of Oldcastle,
100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Dublin.
A video of
the performance quickly became a viral hit.
"From
there it just escalated. The video has almost 42 million hits and is going up
about 35,000 every day," Father Kelly told AFP in an interview in the
parish house he shares with his two King Charles Spaniel dogs - Biddy and
Buddy.
He soon
found himself appearing on chat shows before Universal Music offered him a
record deal.
"It's
been mad," Kelly said.
"I
never thought this would happen at this stage of my life. I was thinking of
nearly retiring and now all of a sudden I've a music career." The album
was recently released in the United States and this week will get its
Australian launch.
There's now
talk of a follow-up Christmas album.
Featuring
Celtic, religious and pop songs, it was recorded over a two month period in a
specially built studio in his home so as not interfere with his parish duties.
'Lifts the
whole place'
Oldcastle
is a quiet rural town close to one of Ireland's most mythical sites, the Boyne
Valley, home to Neolithic passage tombs, monastic ruins and the seat of the old
Irish High Kings.
Outside St
Brigid's Church, Eileen O'Reilly said the whole town was delighted by Kelly's
success.
"We
all knew Father Kelly could sing from masses over the years. When he sings, it
just lifts the whole place," she told AFP.
Kelly still
sings at masses, and on a recent visit by AFP his rendition of "Amazing
Grace" received a hearty applause.
Afterwards
as Kelly walked from the church, a well-dressed woman stopped him at the door.
"I've come all the way from England to see you." "I heard Father
Kelly and thought he was excellent," Margaret Raw from Epsom in England
said after posing for some photographs with Kelly.
"I'm
over on holidays in Ireland and wanted to come see him. He has a wonderful
voice." Last summer, American tourists would occasionally appear at masses
to see him, Kelly said.
"They
might fly into Dublin airport on Sunday morning and their first port of call
was to Oldcastle for 11:30 mass then go off on their holidays but they wanted
to meet me and hear me sing."
'Great for
the Church'
In the
1970s before becoming a priest, Kelly had voice training and often took part in
talent competitions in Dublin pubs.
He later
appeared in local productions of musicals such as "Jesus Christ
Superstar" and "Guys and Dolls".
Since the
YouTube video went viral, he's been to Britain, Germany and the US promoting
the album, even taking part in the New York St Patrick's Day parade last month.
Kelly said
his bishop has been very "supportive and encouraging".
"People
are telling me it's great for the Church and it's great for vocations and it's
great to hear a positive story from the Church after all the negative stuff
that happened in the past." In recent years, the Catholic Church in
Ireland has been badly damaged by revelations about abuse and exploitation
stretching back decades.
'No
Lamborghini'
Despite
strong sales and the occasional concert, Kelly has yet to receive any
significant royalties.
"I'm
still a normal parish priest in a small country town in Ireland and I'm quite
happy doing that." He hopes to help a number of charities, as well as his
15 nieces and nephews, many of who have fallen foul of Ireland's economic
crash.
"Some
of them have big mortgages after buying houses in boom times and are now in
negative equity. Please God I'll be able to help them somewhere along the road.
"As
for myself, there'll be no Lamborghini outside the church or a yacht."
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