From Priest to Stand Up Comedian – all in the name of love
On 6 July 2013, having just turned 27 years old, Englishman Dan Murtah thought he had the rest of his life planned out. That’s because on that hot summer morning, in a cathedral in Newcastle, he was ordained as a Catholic priest.
The vows he made that morning were not the results of a spur of the moment decision. He had just completed six years of training in a seminary where there was plenty of time to reflect.
He loved being a priest. The ordinary parishioners he married, buried and baptised, taught him in his own words “what happiness was”. The more time he spent with them, the more he cared for them. He was content with being a priest for them and not having a family of his own until he met the woman who would change everything.
They had known each other as 19-year-olds but hadn’t been in contact for ten years. At a party one night they bumped into each other and rekindled their friendship. He fell in love with her, and she fell in love with him.
He loved his time as a priest, and he’s thankful for the experience and opportunities, but he has never regretted his decision to leave. Some friends stopped contacting him, and others have remained close.
Some conservative Catholics around the world on social media aren’t happy with him, and he has received many messages telling him so: from “Good riddance,” and “Shame on you,” to “You are damned to hell fire for eternity”. Dan tells his story to Michael Comyn on the Leap of Faith on Friday, March 30th on RTE Radio 1.
RTÉ Radio 1, Friday 30 March, 10pm