Editing Father Dougal McGuire

{{Short description|Character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted}}
{{use dmy dates |date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Father Dougal McGuire
| series      = [[Father Ted]]
| image       = Father Dougal McGuire portrait.jpg
| image_size  = 200px
| alt         = A publicity photograph of Irish actor Ardal O'Hanlon as Father Dougal McGuire
| caption     = Ardal O'Hanlon as Father Dougal
| first       = "[[Good Luck, Father Ted]]" (1995)
| last        = "Fundraising with Father Dougal" <br>(2001; advert)
| creator     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Arthur Mathews (writer)|Arthur Mathews]]
* [[Graham Linehan]]
}}
| portrayer   = [[Ardal O'Hanlon]]
| occupation  = {{Plainlist|
* [[Curate]]
* [[Milkman]] (briefly)
}}
| religion    = [[Roman Catholic]]
| nationality = [[Irish people|Irish]]
}}

'''Father Dougal McGuire''' is a character in the [[Channel 4]] sitcom ''[[Father Ted]]''. Created by [[Arthur Mathews (writer)|Arthur Mathews]] and [[Graham Linehan]], Dougal was portrayed by comedian [[Ardal O'Hanlon]] for the programme's three series. The character is a childlike, simple-minded [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[curate]] exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of [[Galway]].

Dougal originated as an [[unseen character]] in a short-lived stand-up routine performed by Mathews in the late 1980s. Portraying an early version of [[Father Ted Crilly]] on-stage, Mathews occasionally discussed Dougal as one of Ted's great friends. In 1994, the writers took ''Father Ted'' to television, casting O'Hanlon as the on-screen Dougal. In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4, Dougal was ranked fifth on their list of the [[100 Greatest (TV series)|100 Greatest TV Characters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531160558/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-date=31 May 2009 |title=100 Greatest TV Characters |access-date=26 May 2019 |publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/2001/05/05/Y22090001/ |title=100 Greatest ... (100 Greatest TV Characters (Part 1)) |publisher=[[ITN Source]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221233837/http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/2001/05/05/Y22090001/ |archive-date=21 February 2015 |access-date=13 June 2014}}</ref>

==Concept and creation==
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 and chased by natives. In one sketch, Ted discussed his concern for Dougal, who had been voted Most Unpopular Priest in Africa for two years running and was spending Christmas up a tree in the grounds of The Bob Geldof Centre.<ref name="MartinDoyle"/>

In 1990, Linehan and Mathews began writing ''Irish Lives'', a six-part comedy television series. The show would have taken the form of a [[mockumentary]], with each episode focusing on interviewing a different character, one of whom was Father Ted Crilly. The story involved Ted returning to his [[seminary]] to catch up with old friends. When producer [[Geoffrey Perkins]] asked Linehan and Mathews to discard the mockumentary format and expand the Father Ted episode to a traditional sitcom, Father Dougal became one of the main characters.<ref name="ComedyConnections"/> When writing Dougal, Linehan and Mathews drew on [[Stan Laurel]], incorporating some of Linehan's own behaviour during moments of confusion.

==Casting==
Linehan and Mathews saw O'Hanlon in a modernised Shakespeare play broadcast by RTÉ, and were impressed by the "weird, gormless" face he could pull. Linehan later said, "That was Dougal right there. He was just spot-on and he became our secret weapon. The show took off so quickly because Ardal was so instantly funny."<ref name="Guardian20"/> 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.<ref name="2012commentaries"/>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supanet.com/cgi-bin/news/showfeed.pl?id=1079275308-2&area=entertainment |title=Martin And Norton Team Up Martin And Norton Team Up |publisher=Supanet Limited |date=14 March 2004 |access-date=28 December 2014 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040423160956/http://www.supanet.com/cgi-bin/news/showfeed.pl?id=1079275308-2&area=entertainment |archive-date=April 23, 2004 }}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
References to Dougal's family are rare. In "[[Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest]]", he mentions that his parents are dead, and also refers to an uncle who died after his heart stopped beating for a week. It is unclear how Dougal entered the priesthood, with Ted wondering, "Dougal, how did you get into the Church? Was it, like, collect twelve crisp packets and become a priest?"

Dougal is dim-witted and childlike. In "[[Chirpy Burpy Cheap Sheep]]", it is revealed that Ted has made him write a list of things that do not exist, which is on a pull-down chart in their bedroom. Often he says things that Ted specifically told him not to say, such as by asking about Bishop Brennan's son, as well as shouting to Ted to ask if the Bishop found a large number of rabbits that they are hiding in the parochial house (fortunately for Ted, the bishop was more concerned about Dougal addressing him by his first name instead of using his proper title). In "The Mainland", he forgets to have any breakfast and fails to realise this until he and Ted are waiting for Father Jack at the optician. He also nearly gives a visiting bishop a heart attack when he screams in excitement after remembering the director's cut of ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' is airing on television that night.

Sometimes he talks more sense, however, such as when Ted inadvertently winds up his unravelled jumper upon discovering that it could provide a way out, and he asks what use it will be when all wound up. In "[[Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse]]", he suggests that Ted use his fear of Bishop Brennan to his advantage to carry out the forfeit he was assigned by his rival, and to get Bishop Brennan into position, draws a crude watercolour painting on the skirting board, depicting a man wearing a bishop's hat.

By the time the show begins, Dougal has been exiled to Craggy Island as punishment for unknown misdeeds. In an early interview, the writers stated that it involved "a baptism gone wrong".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-television-in-the-name-of-the-father-1616814.html|title=In the name of the FatherIn the name of the Father|last=Thompson|first=Ben|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=22 April 1995|access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref> In "[[The Passion of Saint Tibulus]]", Bishop Brennan says that Dougal cannot be allowed back into "the real world" after "the [[Blackrock, Dublin|Blackrock]] incident", in which hundreds of nuns' lives were "irreparably damaged".

In "A Christmassy Ted", Dougal performs a funeral that Ted was meant to do, but forgot about. Ted is alarmed to learn from Mrs Doyle that Dougal is performing a funeral, and the consequences of Dougal performing the funeral are predictably disastrous.

Bishop Brennan despises Dougal, at one point referring to him as a "cabbage". He also does not take kindly to Dougal calling him "Len", often shouting profanity at him when he does.

Dougal is famously known for wearing an [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Irish football]] jersey when he is in bed. He and Ted share a bedroom, but owing to his childlike nature Dougal does not sleep with a normal blanket like Ted; instead he sleeps with a child's cartoon character [[bedspread]] (specifically ''[[Masters of the Universe]]'').

On the [http://www.channel4.com/programmes/father-ted 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|SeaLink]] ferry that put the lives of hundreds of nuns in danger.'<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/father-ted/profiles/all/father-dougal/256|title=Father Ted - profiles - Father Dougal - All 4|website=www.channel4.com|access-date=2016-12-31}}</ref>

In "[[Old Grey Whistle Theft]]", Dougal mentions that he is 25 years old (soon to be 26).

==Personality==
In the 2011 documentary ''Unintelligent Design'', Linehan said that Dougal had been conceived as a cross between wide-eyed bartender [[Woody Boyd|Woody]] in ''[[Cheers]]'' and roadsweeper [[Trigger (Only Fools and Horses)|Trigger]] in ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''.<ref name="UnintelligentDesign"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/father-ted-cocreator-reveals-inspiration-for-dougal-15042758.html|title=Father Ted co-creator reveals inspiration for Dougal|date=2001-12-31|work=Belfast Telegraph|access-date=2011-01-05}}</ref> In another interview, they mentioned [[Latka Gravas]] from ''[[Taxi (TV series)|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."<ref name="RTE2011"/>

For his portrayal of Dougal, O'Hanlon turned to [[Laurel and Hardy]] and ''[[Fawlty Towers]]''{{'}}s bumbling waiter [[Manuel (Fawlty Towers)|Manuel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RXgUzCJ4uU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/_RXgUzCJ4uU| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Ardal O'Hanlon Talks About Father Ted.|publisher=[[YouTube]]|date=11 November 2009|access-date=25 December 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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 and very, very strange. I saw Dougal as very doglike, very puppyish and lovable, and really loyal to Ted."<ref name="Guardian20"/>

==Reception and legacy==
After the first episode aired, Ben Thompson of ''[[The Independent]]'' singled out O'Hanlon as "the real star of the show", and said that Dougal's "holy-fool innocence" as "worthy of [[James Stewart]]". Writing for the ''[[Irish Examiner]]'', Ed Power said that while the "[[Internet meme|meme]]-worthy" Dougal and Jack received the most attention at the time of broadcast, [[Dermot Morgan]]'s straight-man performance was the highlight in retrospect.<ref name="IrishExaminerGreatest"/> Morgan attributed the show's success to the appealing double-act formed by Dougal, "an idiot who knows nothing", and Ted, "an idiot who thinks he knows something but actually knows nothing."<ref name="IndependentMorgan"/>

As testament to the character's enduring popularity, Irish bookmakers humorously began collecting bets on whether Dougal would succeed Pope [[John Paul II]] upon his death. The odds were 1,000-1<ref>{{Cite news|title = Betting on the next Pope|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2540369.stm|newspaper = BBC|date = 2002-12-05|access-date = 2015-09-05}}</ref> (better odds than some genuine candidates), and some small stakes were actually received.

In 2001, O'Hanlon reprised the role of Dougal for a series of [[PBS]] advertisements to coincide with ''Father Ted''{{'}}s American broadcast; these segments were included on later DVD releases as "Fundraising with Father Dougal".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktsmKO97b44| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ktsmKO97b44| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Dougal Maguire|publisher=[[YouTube]]|date=30 December 2006|access-date=17 February 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcamericashop.com/dvd/father-ted-the-holy-trilogy-11095.html|title=Father Ted: The Holy Trilogy|work=bbcamericashop.com|access-date=17 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525200354/http://www.bbcamericashop.com/dvd/father-ted-the-holy-trilogy-11095.html|archive-date=25 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="2012commentaries">{{cite AV media|last1=Linehan |first1=Graham |author-link1=Graham Linehan |last2=Mathews |first2=Arthur |author-link2=Arthur Mathews (writer) |year=2012 |title=Father Ted DVD Commentaries |type=Podcast |language=en |url=http://www.podcasts.com/father_ted_dvd_commentaries/ |access-date=19 June 2015 |format=mp3 |location=London |publisher=podcasts.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703184945/http://www.podcasts.com/father_ted_dvd_commentaries |archive-date=3 July 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name="ComedyConnections">{{Cite episode|title="Father Ted"|access-date=|series=''[[Comedy Connections]]''|network=[[BBC One]]|date=12 July 2004|series-no=2|language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="Guardian20">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/20/father-ted-legacy-20-years-on-up-with-this-sort-of-thing|title=Father Ted's legacy, 20 years on: up with this sort of thing|last=Harrison|first=Andrew|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=20 April 2015|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="IndependentMorgan">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-dermot-morgan-my-life-as-a-priest-1236417.html|title=Interview: Dermot Morgan; My life as a priest|last=Rampton|first=James|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=18 October 1997|access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="IrishExaminerGreatest">{{cite web|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-top-10-greatest-irish-tv-characters-298811.html|title=The top 10 greatest Irish TV characters|publisher=[[Irish Examiner]]|date=21 November 2014|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="MartinDoyle">{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/father-ted-christmas-special-comedy-gold-the-frankly-incensed-and-mirth-1.2476180|title=Father Ted Christmas special: comedy gold, the frankly incensed and mirth|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|last=Doyle|first=Martin|date=26 December 2015|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="RTE2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/ten/features/2011/0104/426504-fatherted/|title=In Ted We Trust|last=Corr|first=Alan|publisher=[[RTÉ.ie]]|date=1 January 2011|access-date=17 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085137/http://www.rte.ie/ten/features/2011/0104/426504-fatherted/|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="UnintelligentDesign">{{cite AV media|date=1 January 2011|title=''Father Ted: Unintelligent Design''|type=Documentary|language=en|access-date=|location=United Kingdom}}</ref>
}}

{{Father Ted}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuire, Dougal}}
[[Category:Father Ted characters]]
[[Category:Fictional Irish people]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1995]]
[[Category:Fictional Christian priests]]
[[Category:Fictional Catholics]]