It’s obvious who should play Father Ted in the new musical

Paul Moore

This would be an ecumenical matter. Thoughts?

A few weeks ago, Graham Linehan announced that Father Ted would be returning as a musical.

He said: “Pope Ted—The Father Ted Musical’ written by Arthur Mathews and myself, music by Neil Hannon, is almost written. I just thought you’d like to know.”

As reported by the BBC, the musical will see Father Ted Crilly move on from his beloved parochial house on Craggy Island to take on his new role as the Pope.

Linehan told the news outlet that the musical would be about “the least qualified man in the world becoming Pope.”

On why he is revisiting the characters now, he added: “I didn’t want to do anything like this until the right idea came along, and when Trump won and Corbyn won I kind of thought, ‘maybe Ted has a chance’ I thought it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Obviously we’re pulling some shenanigans to get him into that position, but I think the shenanigans are entertaining enough that people won’t mind.”

At present, there’s no news on whether or not the original cast members will return for the play but there’s one major piece of casting that needs to be addressed.

For many people, the late Dermot Morgan was a massive part of their childhood because the iconic comedian’s performance in the show defined their childhood and gave them more laughs than humanly possible.

Aside from his most famous role, Morgan was a gifted comic that was constantly on the cutting edge and willing to ridicule -rather bravely it must be said – the suffocating influence that Catholic Ireland continued to have on our culture.

Whatever direction the play takes, it’s clear that Father Ted is going to be the central character and while we’d also love to see the likes of Ardal O’Hanlon (Dougal), Pauline McLynn (Mrs Doyle), Tony Guilfoyle (Father Larry Duff), Pat Short (Tom) and everyone else returning, replacing Morgan will be a massive task.

To many, Morgan will always be Father Ted but someone else will now be playing the character that we all love so much.

This being said, we think that Tommy Tiernan could be the perfect man to wear Ted’s collar. Here’s why.

1) They’ve previously worked together.

Tiernan famously played the depressed Father Kevin in the Father Ted finale, Going to America.

On that note, it’s fair to assume that Linehan and Mathews are very familiar with Tiernan’s work and that they already rate him quite highly.

Wouldn’t it be a nice little coincidence if the man that Father Ted helped in the very last episode of the show got to continue on his legacy?

2) He’s Irish.

This isn’t meant as a jingoistic or exclusionary remark but Father Ted needs to be Irish.

Much like Del Boy is the product of Peckham and the Friends gang epitomised the coffee culture of New York, Father Ted is definitively Irish. Hell, the show is arguably the finest document of what it’s like to be Irish because it nailed our warped sense of humour and unique eccentricities.

Even before Morgan found fame on Father Ted, his work on Scrap Saturday constantly lampooned Ireland’s political, business and media establishments.

Morgan was a fearless trailblazer that helped pave the way for comedians like Tiernan to satirise and critique modern Irish life.

Morgan was 43 when the first episode of Father Ted aired. Tommy Tiernan is currently 49.

In terms of age, he’s a really good fit for he role.

3) He’s not afraid to have a pop at the Catholic church.

The award-winning comedian and star of Derry Girls first appeared on many people’s radar following the controversial comments that he made about the crucifixion on The Late Late Show.

Granted, Ireland was a very different place in ’97 but that particular skit resulted in 300 people calling RTE to air their complaints.

Rewind a few years earlier and Morgan was doing the exact same thing. In terms of their comedic outlook and sensibilities, both men share a kindred interest and bravery.

On this note, it’s obvious that modern Ireland is a much changed society but it’s easy to forget the seismic impact that Father Ted had in negating the level of authority, control and influence that Catholicism had over the Irish zeitgeist.

To all the folk reminding me people satirised or mocked the catholic church in Ireland before Father Ted, yup, I know. The list of civic & artistic resistance is loong. But F Ted has a special place. Its mockery so on point, so sustained, so devastating, and so mainstream.

— Mike Scott (@MickPuck) May 28, 2018

4) There’s a natural empathy to him.

There are so many words that you could use to define the character of Father Ted Crilly.

Rogue, scoundrel, rascal, liar, schemer, blaggard, devious, hilarious, selfish and a bit of a ‘me feiner’ are all applicable, but there was also an incredible degree of empathy, warmth and kindness to Father Ted.

Morgan put it best when he was asked why the show worked so well. He said that Dougal is “an idiot who knows nothing”, and Ted, is “an idiot who thinks he knows something but actually knows nothing.”

When looking at Tiernan host his TV chatshow, it’s clear that he’s extremely interested in his guests and despite the unscripted and spontaneous format of the show – Tiernan doesn’t even know who he’s interviewing until he goes on stage – his natural interest in people really shines through and it results in some surreal and wonderful TV moments.

Not unlike Father Ted Crilly at his very best.

On this note, anything that can go wrong with a play invariably will go wrong but with his live experience as a stand-up comedian, Tiernan is clearly well able to think on his feet and improvise.