IT is just a regular working day in the priesthood for Fr Martin O’Hagan, his brother, Fr Eugene, and their long-time friend and musical collaborator, Fr David Delargy – better known collectively as The Priests.
Individually, they have dealt with everything from parishioner emergencies to future strategy planning on the morning I ring to chat about what is, in many ways, their biggest event yet – their retirement.
The popular priestly trio are set to quit the big stage – but will, on occasions, grace some smaller ones - with a series of farewell concerts beginning this month and finishing with a last hurrah at the Ulster Hall, Belfast, in January next year.
It is fair to say the Time To Say Goodbye concert tour has taken fans and parishioners somewhat by surprise, but after 50 years singing together and travelling the globe, 2024 is a good a year to bow out, reflects Fr Eugene – chancellor and vicar general of the Diocese of Down and Connor - who admits he will miss “the buzz” of big audience events.
“When we signed our recording contract with Sony in 2008, we had a line put in it that said our music career would never encroach on our diocesan work,” he explains, “but as times change and we get a little older, this is becoming more difficult to coordinate. Our 50th anniversary seems the right time to step back from performing live as a group.”
As Fr David, parish priest of the Loughshore Parishes of Greencastle, Whitehouse and St James (incorporating Whiteabbey and Greenisland) puts it: “Our circumstances have changed a lot since we started out – when I began, I had a small parish and there were two of us: myself and a retired priest. Now I am 17 years older and my energy levels are not quite the same.
“At the same time, my responsibilities have increased... I now have three parishes – four churches – to look after and there is only myself to do it. So, if I do have to be away at a concert somewhere, it’s not just as straightforward finding a replacement.”
Despite this, it hasn’t been an easy decision to say ‘goodbye’ to The Priests, with Fr Martin, parish priest of Newtownards and Comber, acknowledging it will be “a wrench”, particularly since all three voices remain “in good trim”.
“It will be quite a wrench, really,” he says, “but it will be nice to go out with a sense of celebration and great thanks to God and to all those who have contributed to our journey over the years.”
That very “unexpected journey” began quietly back in 1974 when all three were musically-minded schoolboys (nicknamed ‘Holy,’ ‘Holy’, ‘Holy’ by their peers) at St MacNissi’s College in Carnlough (now St Killian’s College, aka Garron Tower) enthusiastically took part in the annual Christmas shows – the first one The Pirates of Penzance when 11-year-old David played Kate – “I had a high soprano voice” – Martin played Edith and Eugene was Major General Stanley.
Our circumstances have changed a lot since we started out... I now have three parishes – four churches – to look after and there is only myself to do it. So, if I do have to be away at a concert somewhere, it’s not just as straightforward finding a replacement
— Fr David Delargy
All three studied at Queen’s in Belfast and had vocation training at the seminary, also in Belfast - during which they studied music under singing teacher Frank Capper. Then, some years into their priestly ministries, in 2008 everything changed.
“We had been singing together at local venues at that stage, but it is a funny story how we ended up being signed to Sony,” Fr Eugene recounts. “As priests, we were invited to audition for a part chanting Latin Mass, linking songs on a proposed album of religious music, when people at the Epic label – part of the Sony family - became interested in our back story and decided to set aside the original project and sign us up for an album instead. What happened afterwards came as a complete surprise, completely out of the blue...”
After signing their record deal on the steps of London’s Westminster Abbey, the three became Guinness World Record holders after The Priests, became the fastest selling debut for a classical act in the UK, also earning them gold and platinum discs for sales throughout Europe and Australia and topping the classical Billboard chart in the USA.
They were heady days and, in the years since, three more albums followed, as well as a documentary, a book (Soul Song) various overseas tours, royal receptions and performances for high-profile audience members including Pope Francis in 2013 in Rome.
But, as working priests, they didn’t let it all go to their heads. “If it did,” observes Father David wryly, “it didn’t stick there for very long. The thing is, when you move into that world, people praise you, they tell you that you are wonderful, they lay it on thick... you find yourself being transported from the airport in a limousine – but I remember Eugene once saying: ‘Boys, we are having all these wonderful experiences, but be very careful that you don’t jump out of the bowl you were baked in.’”
Certainly, a sobering visit to a project helping impoverished families in Thailand - being supported by their charitable foundation - was a stark reminder about how the world is unfairly divided into the haves and have-nots. During a visit to one family, Fr David was presented with a dish of pan-fried mosquitos - the very best the family could offer. He gamely took a forkful, but they stuck in his throat.
Behind the glamour and smiles back home, there was a time when all three felt something sticking in their throats. “When our success took off, it was great,” recalls Fr David. “It opened up another side of the clergy to people, but it was all happening at a very, very difficult time for the Catholic Church in Ireland.
“There were all sorts of negative stories in the press about abuses and how these had been mishandled and covered up. Bishops were being held to account and people were angry… I mean, priests were angry. I was angry.
“People were angry with the church and a lot of people were walking away, feeling let down and disillusioned. And there we were, sticking our necks out as singing priests and appearing on shows like The Jonathan Ross Show... it was frightening for us.
“But I think, in the end, it gave people something else to talk about and the music lifted spirits. I also think it gave a bit of encouragement to young men contemplating a vocation in the priesthood - it sent out a message that when you put yourself forward as a candidate, you don’t have to set aside your humanity, your personality or your talents - you bring all of that into priestly ministry with you. That’s who you are and that’s what you offer.”
One evening he suddenly said: ‘Martin, your toupee is looking very well this evening’. I just had to react on my feet, responding with a quick, ‘Excuse me, this is the real thing’, and tugging at my head
— Fr Martin O'Hagan
For all three, the legacy will be the sense of fun, as well as the music – and the many non-scripted moments that had Fr Martin literally pulling his hair out.
“The humour is very spontaneous on stage – and I never know what Eugene is going to come out with next,” he says, laughing.
“One evening he suddenly said: ‘Martin, your toupee is looking very well this evening’. I just had to react on my feet, responding with a quick, ‘Excuse me, this is the real thing’, and tugging at my head.
“Music is an amazing means of interpreting our journey through this world and I think when combined with faith, it comes alive, but I hope people also remember we were able to laugh and, even through secular music, bring a spiritual quality that touched lives.”
