Ardal O’Hanlon is best known for his role as Father Dougal Maguire in iconic comedy Father Ted.
And clearly there was something in the stars that wanted him to become a man of the cloth!
Yes, he has confessed that he thought about becoming a priest.
He admitted that becoming a priest wasn’t a “mad dream” when he was younger. Especially as he grew up in a “very typical Catholic household”.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said: “It was everywhere. The priests were everywhere. They were in your classroom, they were in your home. The iconography was everywhere. The idea of a vocation was not some mad dream, it was a real thing.”
The priesthood is at the fore of his mind as he is currently hosting a new RTÉ documentary, which investigates the role of the Catholic priest in Irish life, from early history to the present day, entitled The Last Priests in Ireland.
“Actor and comedian Ardal O’Hanlon investigates the role of the Catholic priest in Irish life, ranging from early history to the present day, examining how they shaped Irish lives for the better or for worse,” the synopsis reads.
“Ardal explores if the current generation of Irish priests will be the last and if so who would perform their functions in society, such as their moral influence, after they’ve gone.”
As for his time playing a priest, Ardal fondly remembers Father Ted, describing it as “tame and toothless”.
“It still works very well as a comedy show because the intention was not necessarily to give the Church a kicking, the intention was to make a very funny contemporary comedy show that happened to be set in a parochial house.”
