They were the overnight success that was almost 40 years in the making.

The Very Reverend Eugene O’Hagan, Martin O’Hagan and David Delargy – collectively known as The Priests – were catapulted to fame when they signed with SonyBMG in 2008.

The Priests will release their fourth studio album in the US in November 2018 and will be visiting the US in November for a short concert tour.

Fr David says: “We are delighted that we have had the opportunity to record a new album. The last one was 2010, so it’s been a while. The whole process of trying to identify suitable music and arrange it so that it’s suitable for us has been very stimulating. It’s been good fun to be back in the recording studio. We come to it now with a good bit of experience behind us. We are more relaxed about it, now we just enjoy it. And we can’t wait to get out and play some new songs for our American friends”.

“The first album signing was all a bit of a whirlwind,” says Fr Eugene. “It was really accidental rather than by design. We went from obscurity to being very well known.” One minute they were sitting in confession, listening to the troubles of rural parishioners in Northern Ireland. The next they were collecting gold and platinum discs from Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, France, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. One minute they were making their way to isolated farms to meet members of their local community, the next they were being flown to St Peter’s Basilica, to record at The Vatican.

The Priests were an instant success. Their debut album was released in more than 40 countries and was the subject of TV documentaries in the UK and USA. It became the fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act and sold more than one million copies in Ireland alone. That record still stands.