Fr. Ray Kelly, a priest known for his viral singing videos, has shared his experience of being tormented by a 'delusional' stalker for five years. Despite reporting the matter to authorities, Kelly continues to receive relentless emails from the woman who insists he marry her. The ordeal has deeply affected him, even triggering unsettling feelings when watching a Netflix drama about stalking.
Fr. Ray Kelly , the singing priest with a global following, has opened up about the downsides of fame. He revealed that he's been enduring the torment of a 'delusional' stalker for the past five years. Kelly's singing career took off a decade ago when a video of him performing Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' at a wedding went viral, amassing over 90 million views on YouTube.
He has since achieved success performing worldwide and appearing on shows like Britain's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars. However, the devoted priest confessed that his celebrity status has come at a heavy price, detailing his experiences with multiple female stalkers over the past decade. Since 2019, one woman in particular has relentlessly pursued him, bombarding him with daily emails trying to convince him to abandon his vow of celibacy and marry her.Despite reporting the matter to the gardai (Irish police) and seeking legal advice, Kelly said the barrage of messages hasn't ceased. He continues to receive an average of three emails per day. The 71-year-old, who served as the parish priest of Oldcastle, Co. Meath, for 17 years before being reassigned to Co. Offaly last year, shared that watching the Golden Globe-winning Netflix drama 'Baby Reindeer,' which centers on a stalking storyline, resonated deeply with him, triggering unsettling feelings. He remarked, 'Over the last 10 years I've been extremely fortunate, getting to travel abroad and sing. It's the perfect life in many ways, combining my work as a priest with my love of singing. 'But the stalking has been a problem, and it's really worn me down. One particular case has been ongoing since 2019. It involves a lady I met only once and spoke to very briefly who just hasn't stopped contacting me. 'She lives outside Ireland, but during the pandemic when we live-streamed our Masses at Oldcastle, she would tune into Masses every morning. 'I felt I was being watched all the time. She'd constantly send me messages, commenting on what I was wearing and how tight my clothes looked. She once commented on the song 'Eagles Wings' that I'd sung, saying, 'I knew you sang that especially for me.' 'Even after Mass was over and I'd be tidying up, someone at the end of the church might say, 'Goodbye Father Ray' and I'd reply with a wave, and she would then send me a message, saying she knew that the wave was especially for her. All this made me very uncomfortable, so I wrote to her and asked her to stop. 'I told her I wasn't in love with her, and would not be leaving the priesthood. But that didn't help. In fact, it made matters worse. I asked my solicitor to write to her, and I reported it to the gardai, but they said there wasn't anything they could do about it. 'It gets very intense at times, and even now I receive emails from her nearly every day, and since Christmas it's been about three every day. It's utterly delusional,' Kelly concluded
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