Father Ted is the most Irish show to have achieved critical and cultural success in the UK. OK, you can argue about Mrs Brown’s Boys, and about whether a TV sitcom produced for Channel 4 counts as Irish, but there’s no denying what a phenomenon in the comedy world Father Ted is. Even today, nearly 20 years after first airing, Father Ted is still counted amongst the best sitcoms ever, and it gave many careers a stratospheric launch.
Much of the joy of the series came from its side characters, such as the terrifying spectre of Bishop Len Brennan, the irrepressible Father Noel, and Tom, the resident thug, generally wearing an “I shot JR” shirt. Having such a high number of recurring and guest stars meant featuring lots of contemporary Irish actors and comedians, including Ed Byrne, Tommy Tiernan, and Dervla Kirwan. Graham Norton probably received the best career boost from the show. Although he’d already been presenting Channel 5 shows, off the back of Father Ted he received commissions for his own talk shows on Channel 4.
Just like nearly every other successful sitcom made on this side of the pond, there have been a couple of American remakes mooted. The first attempt was made in 2003 by Spike Feresten, who had worked on Seinfeld and The Simpsons, but nothing ever came of it. Four years later, another remake was announced, moving the action from Ireland to New England. John Michael Higgins was cast as Ted. He was worried about the religious themes, pointing out that Americans tend to be frightened about mocking religion. As before, the remake fell through.
But the series hasn’t been forgotten. After a truly appropriate football match to decide which island held the right to call itself Craggy Island, Inishmore has hosted the Friends of Ted festival since 2007. Each year, fans of Father Ted descend on the island to take part in themed activities, such as a Lovely Girls contest, the Craggy Island World Cup, and a Song for Europe competition. Father Ted was also voted as the top Channel 4 comedy show ever in 2012, which isn’t bad for a show which finished airing 14 years earlier.