Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Poor Clare nun is newest composer for ‘The Priests’

The platinum-selling artists The Priests have taken on a nun in a Poor Clare monastery as their latest songwriter.

Sr Briege O’Hare, who lives in the Poor Clare Monastery at Faughart, near Dundalk, will have her latest composition, Lord Teach Us To Pray, sung by The Priests at a concert and worship experience in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh on July 2.  

Sr O’Hare, who is originally from Newry, is not a singer herself and never met the popular clerical trio up to now.

“I get another nun from the Mercy Order, Sister Marie Cox, to record my songs,” she explained last week. 

She has been writing songs for years, with seven albums of her work released and her compositions have proven especially popular in the United States.  

Sr O’Hare said she has her songs recorded at a studio in Jonesboro in Co. Armagh and gets her ‘divine inspiration’ for her compositions in the area around her contemplative convent.

The introduction to The Priests arose from her being commissioned by the Armagh diocese to write the theme tune for the Spirit Fest in the cathedral.

“I wrote about twelve tracks in total for the event but didn’t know who would be performing,” she remarked.  “I am a big fan of The Priests, they seem like three lovely men and I am over the moon at the prospect of hearing them singing one of my pieces, “she admitted.

“I have absolutely no thoughts about following them into the charts,” Sr O’Hare stressed.

Brothers Fr Eugene O'Hagan and Fr Martin O’Hagan, along with their Down and Connor colleague Fr David Delargy, combine their parish duties with international appearances, including a performance for Pope Benedict last September.