It’s hard to believe that it has been 30 years since the hilarious and, at the time, quite controversial Father Ted hit our screens in 1995.
For four years, the lads on Craggy Island had us falling off our seats with laughter. To this day, it is considered one of the best, if not the best, comedies to come out of Ireland. (Yes, we know Channel 4 broadcast it first, but it was created by two talented Irish writers, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews.)
And while the series focused on three priests living on an island, the women who featured throughout the popular show were just as important! Sure, where would we be without Mrs Doyle’s ‘Ah Go on go on go on go.’ Take a look below to find out.
Mrs Doyle: Pauline McLynn
Is Mrs Doyle the most quoted Father Ted character? Absolutely!
It’s hard to imagine Pauline as anyone else, but she, of course, went on to appear in EastEnders as Yvonne Cotton for a year.
She also appeared in Shameless and played the role of Alice’s (Amy Huberman) mother in the Comedy Central show Threesome. She even tried her hand at presenting over the years.
She also starred in some movies such as Angela’s Ashes and Deadly Cuts.
Mary O’Leary: Rynagh O’Grady
Rynagh played the wife of John O’Leary, the couple who were always at war with each other behind closed doors, but as soon as Father Ted stepped into the shop, they were ‘the perfect couple.’
Mary, who was played by Rynagh O’Grady, was a well-known Irish actress and director. She stared in Far and Away, Breakfast on Pluto, The Commitments and a small part in The Snapper (one of the nosey neighbours).
She trained in the Abbey Theatre School of Acting and made her first appearance on stage in 1969. She went on to perform in Donal O’Kelly’s Mamie Sighs in 1990 and in 2018 Deirdre Kinahan’s The Unmanageable Sisters 2018.
In the nineties, she met musician Eamon Murray and married in 2010. The actress passed away suddenly in 2021 at the age of 67
Imelda: Dawn Bradfield
The winner of the coveted Lovely Girl title was Imelda, played by the actress Dawn Bradfield. But all these years later, where is the actress now?
Dawn has gone on to star in movies, acclaimed TV shows, and many theatre productions since her days on the sitcom.
The 49-year-old played the role of Mam in the Landmark & Everyman stage adaptation of Louise O’Neill’s Asking For It at the Birmingham Rep Theatre. She has starred in Baz Ashmawy’s hit series Faithless, and she was Cepta Maddox in the popular TV series Dublin Murders, which saw Cassie and Rob go through hell as they seek out a killer.
After Father Ted, she appeared in the movie Disco Pigs, which starred Cillian Murphy in 2001 and King Arthur in 2004.
Her television appearances are also impressive as she was seen in Ballykissangel, The Running Mate, The Clinic, Pure Mule and Moone Boy.
Most impressive, perhaps, though, is Dawn’s stage work, as she played the role of Mona in Tom Murphy’s The Gigli Concert at the Gate Theatre along with Dandelion, which co-starred Keith Duffy in The Olympia Theatre and Poor Beast In The Rain.
Not only that but Dawn has also been nominated for multiple awards including Best Supporting Actress at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2008 for her role as Cara Madigan in RTÉ’s The Clinic.
She is also the recipient of a Tony Award Nomination for Best Actress in a featured role for The Lonesome West in 1999.
Niamh Connolly: Clare Grogan
She was given the parochial house by Father Dougal and sold 20 million albums, yes, the character Niamh Connolly was the forward-thinking modern woman that Father Ted and the other priests just didn’t know how to handle.
Born in Scotland, she has Irish connections with her mum being from Dublin and would spend many of her summers in Ireland.
In 1981, she got her big break as Susan in the hit film Gregory’s Girl.
Those from the eighties may have recognised her from the band Altered Images, who had the very repetitive and catchy song Happy Birthday.
In 1997/98, she featured in EastEnders as Ian Beale’s love interest and made appearances in different TV shows such as Doctors and Skins.
In 2022, she headed back to the studio and released a solo album called Mascara Streakz and travelled on the road with her band Bite.
She married Stephen Lironi in 1994 and adopted a daughter the following.
Doreen Keogh: Mrs Dineen
By the time she starred as Mrs Doyle’s friend, Mrs Dineen in Father Ted, Doreen Keogh was well established in the world of acting, both on stage and on screen.
She moved to London in her 20s, after training at the Abbey School of Acting.
She was known as the first barmaid behind the bar in Coronation Street as Concepta Riley in 1960 and stayed for four years. Up until the mid-seventies, she returned to cobbles now and then for a short appearance.
During the nineties, she appeared in another well-known and much-loved series, The Royal Family, as Mary. She would also have star in Ballykisangel, Fair City and Crossroads among many other productions such as Breakfast on Pluto and Some Mother’s Son.
Doreen had Alzheimer’s disease and died December 31 2017, at 93 at St Columba’s Hospital in County Kilkenny.
Laura Sweeny: Zara Turner
Zara made a brief appearance in Father Ted as the solicitor, Laura Sweeney. She comes to deliver Father Jack’s will, but Father Ted and Father Dougal fail to believe her because they don’t think a woman can hold a high position. Father Ted soon felt her wrath.
Zara, who was born in Belfast, went on to star in the popular Hollywood movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow. She stared on The Bill in 2009 and BBC’s One’s The Body Farm in 2011.
She married actor Reece Dinsdale, who many of you may remember as Tina’s dad in Coronation Street and later in Emmerdale as Paul Ashdale.
They share two children, Elwy and Luca.
