It is the best part of three decades since the beloved Irish sitcom Father Ted became a huge success but Ardal O’Hanlon, who played simple-minded Father Dougal McGuire, says it still crops up constantly in Irish life.

“It’s literally referenced every day, not just in Ireland but in the UK as well,” the actor, comedian and novelist says over Zoom from Dublin.

Ardal O’Hanlon as St Peter’s Celtic manager Jim O’Dea (brown coat) with Darragh Humphreys, who plays assistant manager Fran Costello (black jacket), in Fran the Man. Credit: Forty Foot Pictures

When a candidate dropped out of Ireland’s presidential election for failing to return thousands of overpaid euros this week, O’Hanlon says a famous Father Ted line came up: “ That money was just resting in my account ”. Loading

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