Father Ted - Legacy

Legacy

In January 2007 a dispute arose between Inis Oírr (pop. 250) and Inis Mór (pop. 1,200) over which island can claim to be Craggy Island, and thereby host a three-day Friends of Ted Festival. It was decided that in appropriate Father Ted fashion the dispute would be settled by a five-a-side football match held on 25 February 2007. This was won by Inis Mór in a 2–0 match allowing them to use the title of Craggy Island until February 2008, while Inis Oírr was given the title of Rugged Island. The Friends of Ted Festival, better known as Ted Fest, has been held annually as Father Ted fan convention since 2007 after the show achieved a cult following.

As of May 2012, the show is being repeated on More4 and RTÉ Two. All three series have been available through the OnDemand service of Virgin Media in the UK but now they have only one series at a time, switching between the three. As of February 2012, series one and two and the Christmas Special are available on 4oD. BBC Two showed an episode on 8 November 2008 as part of its tribute night to producer Geoffrey Perkins, who had died just over two months before.

Pauline McLynn reprised her role as Mrs Doyle in 2001 for a run of advertisements for the Inland Revenue, reminding people to get their taxes in on time by uttering her catchphrase from the programme ('Go on, go on' repeated over and over again). It was later voted as the worst advert of the year.

The series has been referred to in regard to lack of political policy. Speaking in Carlow in June 2010, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Green Party leader John Gormley said the Labour Party is coming very close to being the "Father Ted of Irish politics" because, according to Gormley, they have no policies.

On 1 January 2011, a night dedicated to the show was screened by Channel 4 from 9pm to 11pm in celebration of its 15th anniversary year. This included the nation's and the writers' favourite episodes plus a documentary of the cast and creators that revisited the show's locations. Pauline McLynn decided not to take part in the documentary. The show was also dedicated to Dermot Morgan. This documentary and another (Father Ted: Unintelligent Design and Small, Far Away – The World Of Father Ted) followed by the episode Kicking Bishop Brennan Up The Arse were repeated again on Channel 4 late in the evening of 26 December 2011.