Ardal’s new pilgrimage
Father Dougal, the rather dim young priest in the classic comedy series Father Ted, probably didn’t know it but he was an agnostic. Take this exchange.
Father Dougal: God, Ted, I’ve heard about those cults. Everyone dressing in black and saying that our Lord is going to come back to judge us all.
Father Ted: No! No, Dougal! That’s us. That’s Catholicism you’re talking about there.
Or... Father Dougal: Do you believe in an afterlife?
Father Ted: Well, Dougal ... priests generally tend to have a strong belief in the afterlife.
Father Dougal’s scepticism about religion is something Ardal O’Hanlon, the Irish writer, actor and stand-up comedian, has in common with the character he played in the 90s show.
‘‘I guess I’m a Catholic agnostic,’’ he says. ‘‘I really don’t know what to believe. I keep a very open mind about stuff. I think probably God’s a good idea but I’m pretty sure that mankind invented the idea ... I wouldn’t knock it and I think that religion and God give people a lot of comfort and there’s no harm in that. And I don’t think you find the answers in science, at least to the more interesting stuff.’’
The strong religious faith of many Irish people is touched on in the first episode of Ireland With Ardal O’Hanlon, a three-part documentary series loosely based on a series of mid-19th-century guidebooks designed to attract well-heeled Victorian tourists.
‘‘I thought I knew Ireland before I went on this journey and I spent a couple of months going around, and this religiosity really surprised me.
‘‘Things like people’s devotion to holy wells. I did not think that this sort of thing was still going on today where people turn up at these places that pre-date Christianity and fill their bottles with this water and use it to bless people and houses and animals.
‘‘Ireland’s a sophisticated country - a modern European democracy with lots of great progressive ideas and lots of things going for it, but we still cling to those old notions too.’’
He says the series is about trying to show viewers why Ireland evolved differently to Britain despite being such close neighbours.
‘‘You can go back in time and you can find reasons. We didn’t really have the Industrial Revolution and we didn’t have the Reformation. Most of all we didn’t have the Romans.
‘‘I think they said, ‘We’ve gone far enough’, so we remained predominantly a Celtic country. But we’ve got running water now, so we’ve caught up.’’
But if the old faith plays an important part in the programme so too does the ‘‘new religion of TV’’.
In the series, O’Hanlon reveals the ‘‘massive’’ influence Game Of Thrones has had on Northern Ireland - ’’in terms of tourism it’s huge. There are now more extras in Ireland than anywhere else in the world in terms of a percentage of the population,’’ he says.
‘‘There are 10,000 of them or something and they train in things like sword fighting and martial arts and they have like a university where they go and they learn and share these skills. We came to the conclusion that it’s good old Irish self-reliance. You’ve got to be creative and entrepreneurial.
‘‘So now the extras project themselves to film and TV companies as the best in the world and it encourages people to continue to invest in Northern Ireland.’’
Father Dougal would never have used such businesslike language, and there’s not much left of the character in O’Hanlon these days. For one thing, he is 51 and has three children.
But he is grateful to the character that launched his TV career after being spotted by Father Ted producer Graham Lineman doing stand-up comedy in Dublin.
Did he worry the show’s success would lead to him being typecast?
‘‘Yeah, a bit, for a while. But then I came from stand-up comedy and I wasn’t thinking in terms of a TV career so I was delighted with any sort of a part. And one thing just led to another so I’ve never complained about being typecast as a result.’’
One of those ‘‘things’’ is the starring role in Death In Paradise, the British crime series.
O’Hanlon is taking over from Kris Marshall as the crime-busting cop on the fictitious island of Saint Marie in the Caribbean. Choice, starts Monday, March 6. TV Guide