Father Dougal McGuire to television, casting O'Hanlon as the on-screen Dougal. Arthur Mathews created the character of Father Ted while working at "Hot Press" in 1987–89. During production weekends, he and Paul Woodfull had the idea for The Joshua Trio, a comedic U2 tribute band. The band performed various warm-up sketches written by Mathews, Woodfull, and Graham Linehan, who joined in a non-musical capacity. These sketches included stand-up performed by Mathews in-character as Father Ted Crilly. As Ted, Mathews sometimes read from a book, "Notes from Africa", purportedly written by Father Dougal McGuire, a missionary friend who described his experiences of being attacked
Father Ted Father Ted Father Ted is a British sitcom that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. Written by Irish writers Arthur Mathews & Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including a Christmas special, for a total of 25 episodes. The show aired on RTÉ Two in Ireland, and in Australia on Nine Network (series 1) and ABC Television (series 2 and 3). Set on the fictional Craggy Island, a remote location off Ireland's west coast, the show starred Dermot Morgan as the