A Meath priest who has shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent (BGT) may take a year-long sabbatical from his parish as he's tipped for the top three on the talent show.
Fr Ray Kelly wowed the audience and moved judge Simon Cowell to tears with his amazing rendition of Everybody Hurts by REM.
And while the 65-year-old can't reveal how far along he gets in the show, he told The Irish Sun that he may take a year off from his parish in Oldcastle, Co Meath to pursue singing.
He explained: “I will always be a priest but I’ve never taken a sabbatical.
“Most priests I know have taken a year off to study or do courses. I’ve never done that.
“I’m hoping I would be given a year off to sing. I’ll be 29 years a priest this summer. I would love to try and pursue the music.”
Fr Ray also said he'd been headhunted by Ireland's Got Talent but had had already agreed to appear on the British version of the show.
“I was scouted for Ireland’s Got Talent but I had committed to Britain’s Got Talent so I couldn’t do anything with them.”
He also denied claims that the BGT producers told him to do hand gestures as part of his act.
"The producers didn’t work with me," he said.
“I rehearse my singing in front of the mirror at home but the best practice I get is from saying Mass, baptisms, and funerals. So I’m used to appearing in public," the confident cleric added.
More than eight million UK viewers watched Father Ray's performance last Saturday and he received a standing ovation.
And he received four yeses from the judges, with Amanda Holden joking that he had "the whole congregation behind him".
Many viewers recognised the music-loving priest, who went viral in 2014 when a video was shared online of him singing a heart-wrenching version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah at the end of a wedding.
