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
Father Ted Mathews first met while working at "Hot Press". In the late 1980s, Mathews, Paul Woodfull and Kieran Woodfull formed The Joshua Trio, a U2 tribute band. The trio began writing comedy sketches to accompany their act. Mathews created the Father Ted character for his short-lived stand-up routine. Before The Joshua Trio played at gigs, Mathews would occasionally come on-stage as Father Ted and tell jokes involving his great friend, Father Dougal McGuire. In 1991, Mathews left his job at "Hot Press" and moved into Linehan's London home. Over the next three to four years, they worked on rough ideas for