Decades after they appeared as members of the Deck Five on a KDKA radio show called "Starlets on Parade" and a live music appreciation television show on WQED, Sister Rosalie Deck and Sister Rosemonde Deck are still singing, playing and recording music.

The two women, part of a family of five siblings, are sisters by birth and by vow because both belong to the Sisters of Divine Providence.

Ireland is the theme of the duo's fourth recording, called "A Little Bit of Heaven," which was released this month. Proceeds from the sale benefit the religious order's ministries.

The two women, who grew up in Beechview, received their musical education from their mother, who taught voice.

"She taught us our voice work. She took us out on our shows. She was the one who made sure that we could have our piano lessons, too," Sister Rosemonde recalled.

Sister Rosemonde, who has played the piano since age 7, also arranges the sisters' songs and plays the accordion.

But it was the late Noel Henry, who directed an Irish band in Massachusetts, who encouraged them to make an Irish recording after he learned they had Irish ancestors on their mother's side of the family.

"He mentioned 'The Spinning Song.' In Ireland, that was as popular as 'Danny Boy,' " Sister Rosemonde said. The album includes a tribute to the women's great-grandmother, known as Grandma O'Hagan.

The two sisters attended Divine Providence Academy when it was located in East Liberty and entered the community a few years apart. Later, each earned undergraduate and master's degrees in music at Duquesne University. The sisters also learned to play guitar and sing in seven languages, including Hebrew.

Although they have toured the Mideast and performed at large benefits, the highlight of their singing career came in October 1982.

While they were staying in Rome, Sister Rosemonde recalled, "We got a telephone call saying the Holy Father wanted us to come the next day to sing at his Mass. We were just about dancing for joy. We were so thrilled. It was so special."

Pope John Paul II also invited the sisters' brother, Richard Deck, a Franciscan father called Father Marion, to concelebrate the Mass.

The two sisters, who entered the religious order at the community's convent in McCandless, moved in the late 1950s to Providence House in Kingston, Mass., where they taught voice and choral music at Sacred Heart High School. Today, they still teach private students and conduct choruses.