Father Ted

Father Ted is an Irish sitcom broadcasted 1995-1998 on channel4 in the UK. It was written by the Irish scriptwriters Graham Lineham (writer of the IT-Crowd) and Arthur Mathews. The setting of the sitcom is the fictitious Craggy Island which is situated at the west coast of Ireland; or as Father Ted puts it in the first episode: “The best way to find us is to head off from Galway go slightly north until you see the English boats with the nuclear symbol on the side.” (5:30). The sitcom focuses on the daily business of the main characters Father Ted (Dermot Morgan), Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O'Hanlon), Father Jack Hackett (Frank Kelly) and the housekeeper Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn). The three priests share a shadowy past and are in a way out-manoeuvred on the island. It is mainly a persiflage on the catholic church, with an interspersal of satire dwelling around Irish mannerisms and contemporary culture. Father Ted overthrows a romanticised rural chastity with an “against the tide” presentation of Ireland and “its ‘grotesque’ elements acting ‘as a potential agent to critical realism’.” (David, 88). The display of the Irish priesthood is of course highly exaggerated but it is served in a wonderful arrangement of Irish black humour. The sitcom was quite a success and even won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award. These days, one can still participate in Father Ted Tours. Just check out the web-site: http://www.tedtours.com

Sources

IMDb-Movies, Television and Celebrities. “Father Ted”. 30 April 2015<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/>. Channel 4. “Father Ted”. 30 April 2015. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/father-ted>. Tobin, David, and Patricia Neville. “Cosmopolitan Kitchen: The Representations of Nation-ality in the Irish TV Series, RAW.” Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 6(2) (2011: 87-99.