Fr Ray Kelly from Tyrrellspass signing a record contract at Universal Music Group's London HQ.

Singing priest Fr Ray signs for Madonna's record label

Singing priest Fr Ray Kelly has signed a deal with one biggest record companies in the world.

The Tyrrellspass native has signed a recording with Universal Music Group, the same label as superstars such as Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Madonna.

Fr Ray, who is the parish priest in Oldcastle, sprang to international prominence in April when a recording of him singing a version of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah at a wedding went viral on You Tube, clocking over 30m hits.

In the months that followed Fr Ray was courted by a number of leading record companies including Universal and rivals Sony.

See next week's Westmeath Examiner for a full report.