Marie Lacey has been performing and arranging music for over 50 years. Her powerful soul voice and humorous personality has resulted in her being highly respected amongst her peers.

She lives in Belfast with Lynas, her husband of 48 years and they have a son, Jonathan, who lives in Liverpool with his wife, Louise, and their 2 grandsons, Alex 7 and Jacob 4.

Raised in a musical home, Marie’s mother, Margaret Leebody, was a well known Gospel singer and would regularly prop her little daughter on a chair beside her on stage to sing a duet. It was at this very early age that she discovered her natural talent for harmony.

Marie led worship in Christian Fellowship Church, Belfast for over 20 years where she often formed choirs for special events such as Easter and Christmas. A musical show to celebrate the church’s 10^th anniversary was staged in the newly built Waterfront Hall in 1997 and this led to Marie being commissioned by the NI Office to write and direct a service of thanksgiving for the new Millennium which was broadcast live by the BBC on the 1^st Sunday of 2000. Later the same year she formed a 600 voice cross community choir to perform at a closing event in the SSE arena.

Marie toured internationally as a worship leader and keynote speaker, mainly at women’s events but it would be fair to say that she is best known as the founder and director of the highly successful Belfast Community Gospel Choir which she formed in 2009.

In 2023 Marie was recognised for her decades of work in the community with an honorary degree from Queen’s University Belfast.
In 2025, Marie was overwhelmed to receive the Member of the British Empire honor from His Majesty King Charles, in recognition of her contribution and work within the arts sector in Northern Ireland, and she now enjoys the immense honour of being called Dr Marie Lacey, MBE.

Her passionate style of directing and her infectious humour coupled with the dynamic sound and presentation of her choir has won the hearts of audiences both locally and internationally. Their resume is impressive including many TV Appearances, performances for Heads of State, Royalty, Corporate and Civic functions and Charity & Church concerts. Internationally they have performed in Portugal, New York, Massachusetts and Indiana.

With many years of service behind her as a gospel singer, worship leader and conference speaker and now as a choir director, it is her deep Christian faith that is the fuel in her soul. Her mission is to tirelessly spread the message of LOVE, JOY and PEACE.