The Priests announce new charity at their second album launch

Fathers Martin and Eugene O'Hagan and David Delargy

Next month, 'The Priests' release their second album: Harmony. The three priests from Northern Ireland broke records last year with the fastest selling debut classical album, selling more than 1.5 million copies in more than 40 countries. Unlike other stars, they won't be keeping all the profits.

At their launch event in London last night they announced that The Priests Charitable Foundation would soon be up and running. A significant portion of the profits from their success will go towards education projects, help for the homeless, and support for sick and retired priests. At the launch event in One Whitehall Place, they performed four songs from their upcoming album: Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Laudamus Te, and You'll Never Walk Alone. The new album will again be released by Sony label, Epic and will contain spiritual, classical and sacred music.

Father Eugene O'Hagan said about their singing: "It's a wonderful way of sharing our faith. People hear something that they like, they're attracted by it, they want to find out more about it. They want to know more about priesthood - what is it like being a priest? So music has introduced them to an aspect of priesthood that they might not otherwise have known about before. In that sense it has been for us wonderfully and personally affirming. Also very many people of our own faith and other faiths, maybe even none, who are searching for something spiritual in life have been able to maybe get something from the music we sing, and that's wonderful. To think that that might be possible gives us great joy."

Present at the launch were fans who had won invitations to the performance through a competition on 'The Priests' website. The Priests, brothers Martin and Eugene O'Hagan and David Delargy, have been singing together since they were teenagers. After being discovered by a record company representative, they signed a Sony contract in front of Westminster Cathedral in April 2008. Since then they have been nominated for a Classical Brit, performed in front of the Queen, and been in Time magazine.

During this hectic year they have still managed to keep up with their parish duties. If the new album follows the success of the first one their parishioners could soon be hearing about a Christmas Number One!

For more information see: www.thepriests.com/gb/