Father Ted's Ardal O'Hanlon talks Celtic and Glasgow Comedy Festival

The Father Ted and Death in Paradise star will be in the city later this month as he returns to the Glasgow Comedy Festival with The Showing Off Must Go On. 

Although he often has to "fly in and fly out" when on tour, Ardal says there are two key things he likes to do when in the city.

"I tend to go for a curry when I’m in Glasgow," he reveals.

"For some reason, I associate Glasgow with really, really good curry, but also I will often try and catch a football match as well if Celtic are playing, that would be the main thing."

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The Showing Off Must Go On was originally toured in 2019 and 2020, before it was disrupted by Covid. 

The show, which Ardal describes as "the rantings and ravings of a middle-aged man", sees him turn to comedy as a "therapeutic emergency response to extreme events". 

"There’s a lot of stuff in there about lifestyle, the way we live our lives, there’s a lot of stuff about family, religion, sex, the usual kind of stuff," he explains.

"I have a slightly surreal take on most things I think, so it gets a little bit surreal but it’s quite punchy, contemporary. Observational stand-up comedy is the way I’d describe it."

Ardal says he believes comedy is "a great way of making sense of the world". 

He says: "You could easily slip into despair if you just got up and watched the news every day and counted the cost of everything and all those pressures we have in our lives all the time.

"I just find for myself, and I found this from a very early age, that comedy was a great release.

"The actual physical act of doing it ... I’m not a power-craving person but it just gives you a certain power, it gives you agency.

"But just the writing of it, just by ridiculing something you take the sting out of it.

"Most of my comedy, and most comedians, are really laughing at themselves and their own stupidity and their own aspirations and their own lifestyle choices and all that kind of thing, so by being able to laugh at all that it just makes it go away a bit."

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Ardal is currently in London doing rehearsals for Dancing at Lughnasa which will open at the Olivier theatre in April but says he couldn't miss the chance to bring the show to the Glasgow Comedy Festival.

He says: "There have been some very memorable gigs over the years in Glasgow so when I was invited to come to the festival I just jumped at it really.

"I’m in the middle of doing a play in London at the moment so I had to get special permission to leave rehearsals to come to the festival in Glasgow, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world."

He adds: "Glasgow audiences tend to be quite lively, I find that generally up there," he says.

"I find Scottish audiences, but Glasgow audiences in particular, just very lively, quite interactive, very comedy savvy so it’s always good fun."

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Despite starring in a variety of TV shows, Ardal says even now there's not a few days that go by where Father Ted, which he starred in from 1995 to 1998 as Father Dougal McGuire, isn't mentioned to him. 

While at one time he says this was "frustrating" he says he's since made his peace with it.

He admits: "I love to be part of it, I do look back very fondly on the whole time and I know people do associate me with it and there’s nothing I can do about that.

"I think that was maybe a bit frustrating 10 or 20 years ago after it finished because as a performer, actor, you just want to move on with your life but I’ve absolutely come to terms with that.

"I know a lot of people come to see my shows because they love Father Ted or they’ve just discovered Father Ted so it’s been nothing but good for me, so I love it."

Ardal O'Hanlon will bring The Showing Off Must Go On to the King's Theatre on Saturday, March 18.