Father Dougal McGuire of nuns' lives were "irreparably damaged". Dougal is also famously known for wearing a Ireland soccer jersey when he is in bed. On the Channel 4 website for Father Ted, the profile for Father Dougal states that 'Dougal was relegated to the island after an unfortunate incident on a SeaLink ferry that put the lives of hundreds of nuns in danger.' In "Old Grey Whistle Theft", Dougal mentions that he is 25 years old. In the 2011 documentary "Unintelligent Design", Linehan said that Dougal had been conceived as a cross between wide-eyed bartender Woody in "Cheers" and roadsweeper Trigger in
Father Dougal McGuire "Only Fools and Horses". In another interview, they mentioned Latka Gravas from "Taxi" as an influence and compared the relationship between Ted and Dougal to that between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza: "Alongside the wily priest who would lie at the drop of a hat we wanted a gormless idiot who was the very model of innocence." For his portrayal of Dougal, O'Hanlon turned to Laurel and Hardy and "Fawlty Towers"s bumbling waiter Manuel. O'Hanlon also drew inspiration from his child sister, as well as dogs, explaining: "Dougal had to be more than just stupid. He had to be otherworldly