An unholy row over Father Ted
A row has broken out between two remote Irish islands over an inaugural
Father Ted festival next month.
Inis Mor — the largest of the three Aran Islands off Co. Galway
— is planning a three-day Friends Of Ted event to mark the ninth
anniversary of the death of comic Dermot Morgan the star of the Channel
4 series.
But Inis Oirr, the smallest of the islands, believes it has a bigger claim
over Father Ted because local scenes — including the Plassey shipwreck
— are shown in the opening scenes of the hit comedy.
Inis Mor has been given an off-season cash injection as dozens of Father
Ted fans have rushed to book hotels, hostels and B&Bs for the February
23-25 festival.
But one B&B owner on Inis Oirr said: “It’s unfair that
Inis Mor is cashing in on Father Ted when obviously we have closer links
with the show.
“Fans and tourists would have come here in the past just to view
the Plassey shipwreck. Inis Mor is trying to pull a fast one to be honest
and we’re not very impressed.”
The Friends Of Ted festival features a bizarre array of themed events
associated with the comedy series such as the Father Jack Cocktail Evening,
the Father Dougal Breakfast Movie Charades, the Lovely Girls Contest and
Charity Auction and A Song for Europe.
Also featured on the bill is the Toilet Duck Comedy Awards, Crazy Golf,
Hide A Nun and Seek, Ludo Aerobics, Buckeroo Speed Dating and a Ferrero
Rocher Quiz Night. Fancy dress five-aside football will also pit priests
against nuns on the island.
Written by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, Father Ted ran for three
seasons on Channel 4 between April 1995 and May 1998.
The show won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy in 1996.
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