The Priests

by Steve Leggett
The Priests are exactly that, three Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland, Father Eugene O'Hagan, Father Martin O'Hagan (they're brothers), and Father David Delargy, who just happen to have three tenor voices that fit together magically. Their talent emerged when all three were attending Queen's University in Belfast and continued while they trained for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome, and it was during this time that they were invited to sing for the Pope in the sacred liturgy. Returning to Ireland to work in their separate ministries, the three stayed linked and continued to sing together while still fulfilling their duties as full-time parish priests. Their ability to absorb and render sacred music, classical arias, and traditional Irish songs with a kind of rare accessibility led to a recording contract with RCA Victor, and after the trio worked with famed producer Mike Hedges, their debut album, simply titled The Priests, was released in 2008. The album was a phenomenal, if unlikely, commercial success, charting high on Billboard's Classical Traditional and Christian/Gospel charts, and amazingly, hit the number one spot on the Top 200 chart. In true priestly fashion, the trio's share of the proceeds from all this success went to their parishes and to support retired priests. A second album, Harmony, appeared in 2009.