Ireland’s Got Talent: Father Ray Kelly Rock’s The Wedding Ceremony

I have only just seen the latest YouTube video sensation that has taken the world by storm – and I’m not surprised at why it has become so popular.

Father Ray Kelly stunned guests – not to mention the bride and groom Chris and Leah O’Kane – with a little surprise that he had for them. The ‘little surprise’ turned out to be an amazing rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with a few changes in the lyrics specially intended for the happy couple.

Many artists have covered this song but Fr. Kelly’s version was so beautiful it brought tears to many of the guests eyes. And yes – I did get a little teary myself as I watched it. But then again, I am such a water cart, so it really wasn’t a surprise.

Catholic priests have a reputation for being a bit ‘fuddy-duddy’. No disrespect to the priests who married Mr. D and me but we did clash a fair bit over our plans for the wedding service. Although my plans were not against church rules, I had two priests who were sticklers for tradition so anything that seemed a bit ‘out there’ was thrown out the window and tradition it was! I couldn’t really argue because it was a case of their church, their rules. So good on Fr. Kelly for putting his own spin on tradition.

It’s such a lovely story to kick start the wedding season and the run-up to Easter. It also reminds me of one of my fave films Sister Act where the power of music brought something of a miraculous change to an inner city parish… I bet Fr. Kelly’s church was packed the next day!