Life

Radio review: Fr David Delargy on being in unlikely boy band

Nuala McCann

Nuala McCann

Nuala McCann is an Irish News columnist and writes a weekly radio review.

Nuala McCann
Nuala McCann Nuala McCann

The Male Room Radio 4

Midweek Radio 4

What does it mean to be a man? Is it an innate sense of direction and a superpower for assembling Ikea flat pack?

Clearly not. What should men talk about beyond who scored what, where, when and what are their team’s chances?

Olly Mann chairs this late night discussion on conversations that men do not normally have on air.

It was intimate and revealing in a way that few men’s programmes are.

One of his guests was Mark Hayhurst who started up a men’s group, The Talking Stick. It was when he hit 50 that the future hit him in the face.

It left him asking important questions he said, like: “What am I doing and what is my life about on that ‘slow downhill journey to the end of my life’.”

Money, earning enough, children leaving home – what role do men have?

Women are more free to discuss those issues, perhaps men need that chance too and the opportunity to break out of traditional masculine roles.

So far, we’ve had the inadequacy episode and the angry episode – roll on more.

In Midweek, Father David Delargy – from the decade’s ”most unlikely boy band”, the Priests - confessed he did not get the sport gene as a child. His siblings had it but he didn’t.

Singing was what inspired him and music was part of his religious awakening, he said.

There’s a story that he and the two other priests were nicknamed Holy, Holy, Holy at school.

There was chat of the new album and the difficulties of sleeping on a tour bus in America... you hit a deer and fall out of bed. All not very priestly.

They did sing with Shane Magowan. No, they didn’t sing with Lady Gaga ... but you never know.

It was relaxed, fun chat... but the high point was the song, Down to the River – rather heavenly.