Fathers Eugene (age 48) and Martin O’Hagan (age 45), who are brothers, and David Delargy (age 44) have achieved the ambitions nurtured when they were at school together: having their own parishes in the Northern Ireland diocese of Down and Connor, where they tend to the spiritual needs of thousands of devout parishioners.

They have now formally begun their work as The Priests, a group whose singing talents are such that record executives believe they’ll be a best-selling band when their debut album is released--with or without Divine Intervention. The album will contain religious and spiritually inspired classics including “Ave Maria” and “Panis Angelicus.”

The Priests’ extraordinary combined talents were first recognized while they were at school at Garron Tower at Queens’s University in Belfast and while they were training for the Priesthood at the Irish College in Rome. Following further vocal training in Rome they were frequently invited to sing for the Pope and, since returning to their vocations in Ireland, have sung together many times, always to the appreciation and enjoyment of their audiences.

Last year they were heard singing together by an Irish pop musician who asked them to make a demo which he immediately took to Sony BMG. So impressed was Nick Raphael, Managing Director of Epic Records, that he immediately began long and secret negotiations to persuade them to sign to the label. The recording contract they signed on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, London allows them exemption from any promotional or recording duties in the event, for instance, of the death of a parishioner over whose funeral they may be required to preside.

It also specifies that none of the three will ever be obliged to take part in any performance or commercial activity which they may feel conflicts with their religious beliefs and that their debut album must be released in Vatican City as well as more familiar global territories such as the UK, USA and Northern Europe. Additionally, the three have stipulated that a percentage of the proceeds of record sales will go to a charity of their choice.

Nick Raphael stated, “These are three extraordinary men blessed with a stunning musical talent which we believe will cross any divide and appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. The integrity of Eugene, Martin and David is reflected in their music and we are delighted to have signed what is, in any terms, a unique recording contract with them.”

The Priests are already in negotiation with a US broadcasting network for a concert to be broadcast coast to coast from New York’s St Patrick Cathedral and are the subject of a major ITV documentary to be shown later this year.