Dermot John Morgan (31 March 1952 – 28 February 1998) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his role as

Father Ted Crilly Father Ted Crilly is the Title character, eponymous main character of the British Channel 4 situation comedy ''Father Ted''. Created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews, Ted was portrayed by comedian Dermot Morgan for th ...

in the Channel 4 sitcom ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

''.

Early life

Morgan was born in Dublin, the son of Hilda "Holly" (née Stokes) and artist and sculptor Donnchadh Morgan. His father died young of an aneurysm, leaving Holly with four children: Dermot, Paul, Denise, and Ruth, the last of whom died in childhood. Morgan was educated at

Oatlands College Oatlands College ( ga, Coláiste Fhearann an Choirce) is a voluntary Christian Brothers secondary school for boys aged 12–18, located in Mount Merrion, County Dublin in Ireland. It prepares students for Junior Certificate and Leaving Certif ...

in Stillorgan and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD), where he studied English literature and philosophy. During his time there, he honed his comic skills; he also fronted a country and Irish band named Big Gom and the Imbeciles, a kind of 'tribute' act to

Big Tom and The Mainliners Big Tom and The Mainliners were a Country and Irish showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland. Timeline 1966–1975 Originally named as "The Mighty Mainliners Showband", the band achieved fame after appearing on RTÉ Te ...

, a major Irish band of the era. After graduation, he worked as an English teacher at St Michael's College in Ailesbury Road, then became a full-time performer.

Career

Father Trendy and ''The Live Mike''

Morgan made his debut in the media on the Morning Ireland radio show produced by Gene Martin, whose sister Ella was the mother of one of Morgan's friends. It was through this contact that Morgan made the break into radio and eventually television. Morgan came to prominence as part of the team behind the highly successful

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

television show ''

The Live Mike ''The Live Mike'' was an Irish television comedy, variety, and chat show presented by Mike Murphy. It was first broadcast on RTÉ 1 on 9 November 1979. The programme featured a candid camera pieces by Murphy himself, with parody songs and co ...

'', presented by

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

. Between 1979 and 1982 Morgan played a range of comic characters who appeared between segments of the show. Morgan lampooned the rampant

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

within the Post-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

Roman Catholic Church in Ireland , native_name_lang = ga , image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. , abbreviation = , type ...

by creating Father Trendy, a wishy-washy, trying-to-be-cool

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

-priest (modelled after Father Brian D'Arcy). Father Trendy always wore an Elvis-style haircut and sometimes a leather jacket. He was also given to drawing ludicrous parallels between religious life and secular hobbies in two-minute 'sermons' to the camera. Morgan's other characters included a bigoted GAA member who waved his hurley around while verbally attacking his pet hates. Morgan also lampooned both the

Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning ...

and the clichés of

Irish rebel song In the music of Ireland, Irish rebel songs refer to folk songs which are primarily about the various rebellions against English (and later British) Crown rule. Songs about prior rebellions are a popular topic of choice among musicians which supp ...

s, which he said: "always have lots of blood and guts and thunder in them". He then sang a rebel song of his own, a parody of Thomas Osborne Davis' song "

A Nation Once Again "A Nation Once Again" is a song written in the early to mid-1840s by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814–1845). Davis was a founder of Young Ireland, an Irish movement whose aim was for Ireland to gain independence from Britain. Davis believed that song ...

", about the martyrdom of Fido, a dog who saves his

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

master by eating a hand grenade during a search of the house by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. When the dog farts and the grenade detonates, the Black and Tans comment that "It must have been something he ate." The song climaxed with the words: "I hope that I shall live to see Fido an Alsatian once again."

As a singer: ''Mr Eastwood''

Morgan released a comedy single, ''Thank You Very Very Much, Mr. Eastwood'', in December 1985. It was a take on the fawning praise that internationally successful Irish boxer

Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 198 ...

gave his manager, Barney Eastwood, at the end of successive bouts. The single 'featured' lines by McGuigan,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, and was the

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

in the

Irish singles chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

in 1985.

''Scrap Saturday''

Morgan's biggest Irish broadcasting success occurred in the late 1980s on the Saturday morning radio comedy show ''

Scrap Saturday ''Scrap Saturday'' was an Irish satirical radio sketch show created by Dermot Morgan, who was also the main performer on the show, and Gerry Stembridge, which ran on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday mornings from 1989 until 1991. Pauline McLynn and Owe ...

'', in which Morgan, co-scriptwriter Gerard Stembridge, Owen Roe and

Pauline McLynn Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'', Tip Haddem in the BBC ...

mocked Ireland's political, business and media establishment. The show's treatment of the relationship between the ever-controversial

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

and his press secretary PJ Mara proved particularly popular, with Haughey's dismissive attitude towards Mara and the latter's adoring and grovelling attitude towards his boss winning critical praise. Morgan pilloried Haughey's propensity for claiming a family connection to almost every part of Ireland he visited by referring to a famous advertisement for Harp beer, which played on the image of someone returning home and seeking friends. The Haughey/Mara "double act" became the star turn in a series that mocked both sides of the political divide, from Haughey and his advisors to opposition

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

TD Michael Noonan as

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

disk jockey "Morning Noon'an Night". When RTÉ axed the show in the early 1990s a national outcry ensued. Morgan lashed the decision, calling it "a shameless act of broadcasting cowardice and political subservience". An RTÉ spokesman said: "The show is not being axed. It's just not being continued!" In 1991, Morgan received a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for his contribution to ''Scrap Saturday'' from the Irish national newspaper radio critics.

''Father Ted''

Already a celebrity in Ireland, Morgan got his big break in Britain with

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's Irish sitcom ''

'', which ran for three series from 1995 to 1998. Writers

Graham Linehan Graham Linehan () (born 22 May 1968) is an Irish television writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), ''Black Books'' (2000–2004) and '' The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013). He has also ...

and Arthur Mathews auditioned many actors for the title role, but Morgan's enthusiasm won him the part. ''Father Ted'' focuses on the misadventures of three morally dubious Irish Catholic priests, whose transgressions have caused them to be exiled to the fictional Craggy Island, off the coast of

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

BAFTA Award

In 1996, ''Father Ted'' won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy. The same year Morgan also won a British Comedy Award for Top TV Comedy Actor, and McLynn was awarded Top TV Comedy Actress. In 1999, ''Father Ted'' won a second BAFTA for Best Comedy, with Morgan being awarded Best Comedy Performance posthumously.

Unreleased works

Morgan said in an interview with Gay Byrne on ''The Late Late Show'' in 1996 that he was writing a screenplay entitled ''Miracle of the Magyars'', based on a real-life incident in the 1950s when the Archbishop of Dublin forbade Catholics from attending a football match between the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

on religious and spiritual grounds. Yugoslavia won the match 4–1. Morgan planned to use Hungary as the opposing side to the Republic of Ireland – hence the title. At the time of his death in 1998, he had completed the screenplay but the film never was made. Morgan's first project after ''Father Ted'' was to be ''Re-united'', a sitcom about two retired footballers sharing a flat in London. According to former manager John Fischer, Morgan was writing the script for the programme and planned to take the part of "an

Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional association football, footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella ...

-type who had gone on to work in journalism, but had ended up living with an old football pal".

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. S ...

was in talks for the role of the friend. Morgan had been commissioned to write a drama series for the BBC.

Personal life

Morgan was married to Susanne Garmatz, a German woman, with whom he had two sons. He later began a relationship with Fiona Clarke, with whom he had another son. Although he had been raised as a Catholic and had briefly considered becoming a priest during childhood, Morgan became an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

in his later life, and he was critical of the Catholic Church. He supported Irish football club UCD FC and English football club

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

Death

Before location filming on the third and final series of ''Father Ted'', Morgan underwent a mandatory medical examination in which he was found to have

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

, and was prescribed medication. One day after recording the series' final episode, Morgan suffered a heart attack while hosting a dinner party at his home in London's

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

area, at which the Scottish musician Jim Diamond was present. He was rushed to hospital, but died soon afterward. He was 45 years old. Morgan's sister Denise said "He wasn't feeling great at the end of the meal and I went to the bedroom with him. He had a heart attack, and I didn't recognise it. From my limited training in first aid, I wasn't sure exactly what was happening. The symptoms didn't match what the books said. I said to him 'I think you are okay' and we went back to the table. He apologised for having left the room and the next thing he just collapsed. We tried to resuscitate him but it didn't work." ''Father Ted'' co-star

Frank Kelly Francis Kelly (28 December 1938 – 28 February 2016) was an Irish actor, singer and writer, whose career covered television, radio, theatre, music, screenwriting and film. He is best remembered for playing Father Jack Hackett in the Channel 4 ...

said "Dermot's mind was mercurial. I think he was a kind of comedic meteor. He burned himself out." Despite Morgan's atheism, a Catholic requiem mass was offered for him at St Therese's Church in the South Dublin suburb of

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) south ...

. The mass was attended by Irish President

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

, her predecessor

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

, and many of the Irish political and religious leaders who had been the targets of his satire in ''Scrap Saturday''. His body was cremated at

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

, and his ashes were buried in the family plot at

Deans Grange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

Legacy

In December 2013, the documentary ''Dermot Morgan – Fearless Funnyman'' aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

. A wax statue of Morgan was erected by his sons in the national wax museum in Dublin.

Appearances

Television

*''

'' (1979–1982) *''

'' (1995–1998) *'' Have I Got News for You'' (1996–97; episodes 11.02 and 14.03) *'' Shooting Stars'' (1 episode, 1996) *''

That's Showbusiness ''That's Showbusiness'' is a game show that aired on BBC1 from 20 May 1989 to 8 July 1996 and hosted by Mike Smith. Format In the first three series, the game was played with two teams of three with team captains Kenny Everett and Gloria Hunni ...

'' (1 episode, 1996)

Radio

*''

'' (1989–1991)

Film

*''

Taffin ''Taffin'' is a 1988 thriller film directed by Francis Megahy and starring Pierce Brosnan in the title role of Mark Taffin.''The Irish Filmography 1896-1996''; Red Mountain Press (Dublin); 1996. Page 196 It also featured Ray McAnally, Alison Do ...

'' (1988) *''

The First Snow of Winter ''The First Snow of Winter'' is a British animated television film produced by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment and Link Entertainment and first aired on the BBC on 25 December 1998. The film features the voices of Miriam Margolyes, Dermot Morgan, ...

'' (1998, voice in UK version)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Dermot 1952 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Irish male actors Alumni of University College Dublin Best Comedy Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery Critics of the Catholic Church Father Ted Former Roman Catholics Irish atheists Irish comedy musicians Irish former Christians Irish impressionists (entertainers) Irish male comedians Irish male television actors Irish satirists Irish schoolteachers Irish expatriates in England Jacob's Award winners People educated at Oatlands College Radio personalities from the Republic of Ireland People from Stillorgan