MICHAEL PATRICK KELLY | 6 years as a monk, 30 years as a musician
Michael Patrick Kelly was born for music, from his success with The Kelly Family to his latest solo album, BOATS, his faith has taken him a long way, even leading him to retire for several years to live in a monastery ⛪
CATEGORY | News
AUTHOR | JC Trembol
Reading Time | 4 min
Listening Time | 12 min
Michael Patrick Kelly Blurry Eyes
Michael Patrick Kelly and The Kelly Family Biography
The story of Michael Patrick “Paddy” Kelly begins before he is born, when his father, Daniel Jerome Kelly, an American teacher living in Spain, falls in love with his four children’s nanny, Barbara Ann Suoko, They marry and live in Spain.

- The older children decide to form a band called ‘The Kelly Kids‘, which becomes popular in Spain and takes the whole family on a tour of Europe.
- On a stop in Dublin (Ireland), on December 5th 1977, Michael was born in the caravan they were using for the tour 🛺, joining the other 12 children of the couple.
- In 1982, due to cancer, his mother dies. Her last words were: “Keep singing!“
- The band, still without much success, continues to play on the street. Michael Patrick Kelly, joins them at the age of 7.
- The father, who also taught them all, had many problems with alcohol, and Patrick and his family lived in poverty for a while.
The Kelly Family
When Michael Patrick turns 12, the Kelly family moves to live on a floating boat in Amsterdam (Holland).
Paddy begins to play a more prominent role in the group’s music, so much so that at the age of 15 he composes ‘The Kelly Family’s’ biggest hit, called ‘An Angel‘ 👼
- The single reached No. 1 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and was a hit all over Europe. In the following years (mid 90’s) they would sell over 20 million records, selling out stadiums on their tours.
- The Kellys continued with their hippie lifestyle, which brought them a lot of ridicule.
- Even so, Paddy Kelly became the leader of the group and had to go with security staff on the street because of the fame he achieved.
- In 2002, the year his father died, he cut off his long hair and left The Kelly Family to start his solo career.
Michael Patrick Kelly is a musical prodigy, playing guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano and keyboard. He also learned instruments such as percussion and harmonica, among others. 🎼
Michael Patrick Kelly | Solo career
Paddy released his solo debut, ‘In Exile‘, in 2003. It was received positively, especially in Germany, with the single ‘When you sleep‘.
After that, he would retire to a convent in France for the next 6 years of his life, living as a monk and calling himself Friar John Paul Mary 📿
In 2010 Paddy Kelly left the religious community for health reasons, despite this he has always said that his time in the monastery was the best of his life.
It would not be until 2015 that he would release his 2nd solo album, ‘Human‘.
We dreamed of having a lot of houses, singing in big stadiums, living on a boat and living in a castle. None of these desires fulfilled me. What really matters in life, you can’t pay for with money.On his return to the stage, he devoted himself especially to Christian pop music:
- In 2011 he started a Christmas tour with some of his siblings singing Christmas carols.
- In 2012 he did a solo project called Agape in 10 German churches, with the participation of local priests.
- In 2013 he married his childhood sweetheart, Belgian journalist Joelle Verreet.
Michael Patrick Kelly
- The album consists of 10 songs that look deep into the human heart, lamenting its suffering, celebrating its strength, following its yearnings and, above all, demonstrating the confidence that Michael Patrick carries within.
- Our favourite track on the album is ‘Beautiful Soul‘.
- 10 spiritual tracks including ‘Don’t Judas me‘, a poignant ballad about betrayal.
Michael Patrick Kelly B.O.A.T.S | New album
What is B•O•A•T•S? Simply put, it’s a magnificent album 😻 15 songs based on real events.
‘Icon‘, for example, is inspired by Michael Patrick Kelly’s encounters singing to inmates, where he met one who had painted his entire cell with icons.
‘Running Blind ‘ tells the story of the blind runner who became a Paralympic gold medallist, and ‘Mother’s Day‘ tells how Michael, aged 5, plucked flowers from neighbouring graves to put them on his mother’s grave.
About ‘Throwback‘ Martin explained:
- Years later, he would take a van full of bouquets to the neighbouring graves from which he had stolen flowers, touching the whole village 🌺
Michael Patrick Kelly ‘B.O.A.T.S’
I wrote it to look back at the good times in life, and in particular, a very special night when I was the last one on the dance floor until 6am, dancing to a playlist from the 70’sMusically, B.O.A.T.S. takes us through multiple soundscapes and moods, all sung with a voice full of humanity, that of Michael Patrick Kelly. We can’t end our review of this great album without mentioning Michael’s biggest recent hit, ‘Beautiful Madness‘, where he describes the feeling you get when suddenly everything is turned upside down and you can’t do anything but push through with confidence.
Michael Patrick Kelly is not stopping, releasing a new single called ‘Best Bad Friend‘ with Rea Garvey in 2022. We still have a lot more Paddy to enjoy, but while we wait, we leave you with Michael Patrick Kelly’s best songs.