Father Ted shows while at the same time writing for sketch shows such as "The All New Alexei Sayle Show" and "The Fast Show". One of these ideas was for a comedy mockumentary series called "Irish Lives", with six episodes, each focusing on a different character living somewhere in Ireland. They scripted an episode centring on a priest named Father Ted Crilly, who visits his friends in the seminary in Maynooth College. Producer Geoffrey Perkins suggested that the episode's concept be dramatised and rewritten as a sitcom. Mathews was originally intended to play Ted, but decided he lacked the acting ability the
A Song for Europe (Father Ted) government, but was rejected by the Oireachtas petitions committee. A Song for Europe (Father Ted) "A Song for Europe" is the fifth episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom "Father Ted" and the 11th episode overall. It originally aired in April 1996 and has since been recognised as one of the most popular episodes of the show. The episode is based on Ireland's winning streak at the Eurovision Song Contest during the 1990s. The plot centres around Ted and Dougal trying to write a song for it (though the episode does not refer to that name directly)