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.
AFP
