Almost a year to the day his debut album was released, Tyrrellspass native, Father Ray Kelly released his second collection, entitled “An Irish Christmas Blessing.” Hitting the shelves just before the festive season, the album was a seasonal hit, selling very well and cementing further Fr. Kelly’s singing success.
The album is a compilation of Fr. Ray’s favorite Christmas songs, including “Silent Night,” “O, Come All Ye Faithful” and “Little Drummer Boy.”
MAGICAL
“When I was asked to consider a Christmas album, I jumped at the chance as Christmas is one of my favorite times of year,” said Fr. Ray of the album’s popularity.
“A flood of Christmas songs came to mind. I wanted to record them all. There can never be anything as magical as Christmas. A time full of memories that hold a sense of nostalgia for good times long gone and for loved ones no longer with us,” he said.
The album was recorded during the summer and was produced by Nigel Wright, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long time music producer. Father Ray spent July and August recording his favorite Christmas songs at Nigel’s studio, all the while flying back and forth to Oldcastle to fulfill his parochial duties.
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
Fr. Ray became an international name after a YouTube recording of him went viral in 2014. Since dubbed ‘The Singing Priest,’ he has been in constant demand, travelling around the country and abroad to perform.
It was a video of him singing the Leonard Cohen classic, “Hallelujah” at a wedding that launched his career as a singer and the past 20 months have been somewhat of a blur for Fr Ray.
He has travelled the world promoting his debut album, “Where I Belong” and telling people his story of being a 27-year-old civil servant who decided to become a priest.
Born in Tyrrellspass in April, 1953, Ray moved to Dublin and worked in the Civil Service. In 1982 he was called to the priesthood and was ordained as a priest in 1989.
He joined the St Patrick’s Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers) and worked as a missionary in pre-Apartheid South Africa from 1991-1992 and did Mission Appeal work in the US.
He returned to Ireland and was appointed as Parish Priest in Oldcastle in 2006. As one of his great loves was singing, he built a home studio in one of the rooms of his parish house to indulge his passion for his hobby.
He was often asked to sing at local events, but never thought it would lead to anything, until he sang at the wedding of Chris and Leah O’Kane in the spring of 2014. That famous video has now reached over 46 million views to date.
CHARITY
Fr. Ray explained that he is donating a percentage of the profits of the sales of this album and his live concerts to the Kiltegan Fathers’ St Patrick’s Missionary Society, where he started his journey as a Catholic priest.
Fr. Ray travelled all over the world to work for the society and he says that he wants to use his musical journey to benefit the society that he loves.
