Fr Ray Kelly appeals to fans to help fund his new album

Singing priest Fr Ray Kelly has asked his fans to help fund the recording costs of his next album.

The Tyrrellspass native and current parish priest in Oldcastle is hoping that enough fans will donate money to enable him to cover the €25,000 production costs for what will be his third studio album.

In a post of the Kickstarter crowdfunding website where he has set up an account, Fr Ray says that in the nearly five years since a video of him singing the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah at a wedding went viral, he has “ travelled the world and made so many friends because of my music”.

“Every time I play a concert people ask me when I am going to release some new music,” he states.

“So I was thinking that the best way to commemorate the 5th anniversary of my "Hallelujah" day was to record a new album and to allow my friends to help me produce it.

“As I don't currently have a record deal, I have decided to partner with Kickstarter to raise the money to fund the recording costs of my new album.”

If you are one of the people who buys a copy of the CD upfront, you will have your name listed on the album credits and, Fr Ray says, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you will be helping him to record that album

“The campaign will run for 60 days, so if you want to have your name on my album sleeve you need to order within that time,” he says, adding that as a special treat, he will be hosting a very special concert show to launch the album and a limited amount of tickets for that show will be available as part of the campaign.

If you pledge €20 or more, you get a signed copy of the album and if you pledge €100 you will get an invite to an exclusive concert in Oldcastle to mark the launch of the album.

If you want to help fund Fr Ray's new album go to www.kickstarter.com and search for Fr Ray Kelly's Third Album.