Father Dougal McGuire The writers have said that the only other actor they feel might have worked in the role is Don Wycherley, who plays Dougal's Rugged Island counterpart, Father Cyril McDuff, in the show. There have been several attempts to remake the show for American audiences. In 2004, it was reported that Graham Norton (who played Father Noel Furlong in "Father Ted") had signed on to play Dougal alongside Steve Martin as Ted. No remake has yet entered production. References to Dougal's family are rare. In "Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", he mentions that his parents are dead, and also refers to
A Song for Europe (Father Ted) pun on "Huguenots". Declan Lowney, who directed most "Father Ted" episodes, was also director of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. The actual name of the Eurovision Song Contest is not mentioned at any point in the episode. The reference is always to the "Eurosong Competition". The scene in which Ted loses his temper at Dougal's failure to play the correct note is a reference to "The Troggs Tapes", a notorious out-take from a recording session by The Troggs. In the "Father Ted" script book, Graham Linehan notes that he initially wanted the scene to run longer, but that it was