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.