The Priests: The Irish trio bringing sacred music to the world

From singing together as students at a boarding school in the 1970s to being discovered by Sony in 2008 and making four albums, the priests have always sought to evangelize through sacred music.

Nearly two decades after becoming an international musical phenomenon, the Irish group The Priests continues to bring sacred music to stages around the world as a form of evangelization.

For Father David Delargy, one of the three Irish priests who make up the group, singing does not mean setting aside his ministry, but rather living it out in a different way.

“For me, I don’t leave my priesthood behind me or to the side when I’m performing or singing on the stage. My priesthood is there, and I am ministering through the means of sacred music for those who, if you like, are the congregation rather than the audience,” he explained to EWTN News.

The Priests consists of priests Father Martin OʼHagan, Father Eugene OʼHagan, and Delargy, who began singing together as students at a boarding school in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and later continued to do so while studying in Rome.

Their story took an unexpected turn in 2008, when a Sony representative heard them singing together and proposed that they record an album.

“One of the Sony record labels, one of the leaders there, had an idea for recording an album that might involve some priests. So, they sent out a scout. When they heard the three of us singing together, they realized we had been singing together since our boyhood days. And they thought, ‘These guys, they can sound quite nice together. Let’s make an album with them,’” Delargy recounted.

“So, we signed a contract with them on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and went on to make four albums together, beginning in 2008 with ‘The Priests,’” he added.

The first album exceeded expectations, selling nearly two million copies worldwide.

The Priests have also released the albums “Harmony” (2009), “Noël” (2010), and “Alleluia” (2016), as well as the compilation “Then Sings My Soul: The Best of The Priests” (2012).

For Delargy, music has never been separate from his priesthood.

“In some profound ways, music moves people, evokes emotions, feelings and thoughts that otherwise might not have been there. So, I think God will use …our poor little voices and instruments, he will use all that to his own kind purposes and ends,” he stated.

A musical pilgrimage to Rome

Almost 20 years after that unexpected success, The Priests returned to Rome to mark the centenary of the Pontifical Irish College, the institution where the three men studied.

“We are all former students of the Irish College and we’ve been in our diocese of Down and Connor for 35 years, each of us, and we’ve all got great love for the college and I think given the fact that the college is celebrating 100 years this year, it’s a momentous occasion for the college,” Delargy related.

The celebration included a musical pilgrimage to some of Romeʼs historic churches accompanied by other priests and the faithful who had traveled from Ireland.

‘Sacred music in its essence is prayer’

Delargy believes music allows for the expression of things that words do not always manage to convey.

“Music can express praise, it can express peace, it can express prayer for those who are full of joy, but it can also journey with those who are experiencing difficulty,” he noted.

“So, sacred music in its essence is prayer. I have to go back to St. Augustine, who said when you sing, you pray twice,” he observed.

The priest also believes that music can serve as a gateway to Catholicism.

“Sometimes the music, sacred music I’m talking about in particular, will be for many people their only point of contact specifically with the Christian faith. And so the Lord will use all these various means to draw us to himself,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.