A show was based around the lives of three
misfit priests who had been consigned to the most remote parish in Ireland –
Craggy Island.
Father Jack was a
violent,
womanising,
alcoholic old priest whose vocabulary had been reduced to four words – “
arse”, “
feck”, “
drink” and “
girls”.
Father Dougal was a six-year old trapped in the body of an overgrown six-year old, an outcast from the church since the incident at
Black Rock (“Real people were hurt Dougal!” “Ah sure they were only
nuns Ted”).
Father Ted was the only relatively sane one, but also the most hated by the
bishop, due to the funds for the
cancer charity “resting” in Ted’s account while he was on holiday in
Las Vegas.
Between them, they administered their own brand of religion to the insane, inbred locals of Craggy Island. Not to mention the large Chinese community.
The cast itself was a brilliantly assembled. The three ages of Irish comedy were represented - Frank Kelly, it's glorious past, Dermot Morgan, its present, and Ardal O'Hanlon, fresh from winning the Perrier Award, the bright prospect of the future. It also managed to give a cameo to practically every Irish stand-up in the business at the time, regardless of their stature (for example, the unknown semi-professional Pat McDonnel got a starring role in one episode as singer Eoin McLove).
Despite the all-Irish cast and writing team, it was picked up by the English broadcaster Channel 4 . It’s a pity really – one of the funniest things about Father Ted was its mix of acid-drenched surrealism and absolutely spot-on observations about Ireland. Everyone in Ireland knows at least one Mrs. Doyle.
The show ran for three series (+ 1 Christmas special). After a slightly shaky start, it soared to the top of the ratings in the UK, which led to the rather funny sight of RTE desperately running to buy the rights.
Unfortunately, Father Ted never made it beyond the third series. Dermot Morgan, aka Ted, died a few weeks before the final series was aired.
For a complete guide to the series, look at the best web page, The Craggy Island Examiner @ http://www.geocities.com/Paris/2694/craggy.html
Update: The Craggy Island Examiner now appears to be defunct. There are bits and pieces about Father Ted elsewhere on the web, but nothing as comprehensive as this site used to be.
Writing Credits:
Graham Linehan and
Arthur Matthews
Cast:
Fr. Ted Crilly –
Dermot Morgan
Fr. Dougal McGuire –
Ardal O’Hanlon
Fr. Jack Hackett –
Frank Kelly
Mrs. Doyle –
Pauline McGlynn
Episode Guide
Series 1
Good Luck Father Ted
Entertaining Father Stone
The Passion Of St Tibulus
Competition Time
And God Created Woman
Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest
Series 2
Hell
Think Fast, Father Ted
Tentacles Of Doom
The Old Grey Whistle Theft
A Song For Europe
The Plague
Rock-a-hula Ted
Cigarettes, Alcohol and Rollerblading
New Jack City
Flight Into Terror
Christmas Special
A Christmassy Ted
Series 3
Are You Right There, Father Ted?
Chirpy Burpy Cheap Sheep
Speed 3
The Mainland
Escape From Victory
Kicking Bishop Brennan Up The Arse
Night Of The Nearly Dead
Going To America