A singing Irish priest has made it through to the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.
Fr Ray Kelly (64), who is a parish priest in Oldcastle, Co Meath, impressed judges with a cover of the REM hit Everybody Hurts.
The performance was hailed by Simon Cowell as one of his “favourite ever auditions”, while Amanda Holden told Fr Kelly and other finalists: “You better thank Him upstairs sir, because you’re all through to the next round.”
The priest was one of 40 acts to make it through to the live semi-finals of the prime-time show, which begin tonight on ITV and TV3.
Fr Kelly, who was born in the Co Meath village of Tyrellspass and was ordained in 1989, has served as a parish priest in South Africa and as an army chaplain in the Curragh Camp, Co Kildare.
He shot to fame in 2014 when a video of him singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah at the wedding of a Meath couple became a viral sensation.
It led to Fr Kelly signing a recording contract with Universal Music Ireland and embarking on a singing tour of the USA.
