Craggy Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Craggy Island is a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland and is the primary setting for the comedy television series Father Ted.

Wholly bleak and otherwise unpleasant, Craggy Island is not found on any map and contains no real places anyone would want to visit. Due to these qualities, it was the perfect place to send Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire, and Father Jack Hackett - the series principal characters - as punishment by Bishop Brennan for their individual wrongdoings.

[edit] Description

The population of Craggy Island consists of numerous eccentrics, a sizeable Chinese community, and one Māori. There is one main town where most of the people and buildings are located. The Parochial House is located outside the town. Due to a spell of bad weather, the island no longer has a West side, only North, South, and East. The sea around Craggy Island is used as a nuclear waste dump by British ships.

Despite not being mentioned on any map, Craggy Island is in fact used as a navigational device. According to Ted, "the general consensus is if you're heading away from Craggy Island you're going in the right direction."

The phone service on Craggy Island is run by Telecom Éireann. The island also has a newspaper, the Craggy Island Examiner. When the whistle of Mr. Benson, the gentleman who watches the picnic area from his shack, was stolen, the paper ran a colour pull-out section on whistles, to capitalise on the excitement of the locals. The island also has an internet café, cinema, lighthouse, and an aviary.

Crime is not much of a problem on the island and its citizens cannot seem to cope with any sort of transgression, large or small. During the aforementioned whistle crisis, one resident believed the island would become something out of Boyz N the Hood.

The neighbouring Rugged Island is strikingly similar to Craggy Island in people and description.

All vehicles (such as Ted's car, the raffle prize car and the milkfloat) have number plates registered with a "CI" index mark (probably the initials for Craggy Island). However, in reality these letters were designated for Laois County Council in 1958. [1]

[edit] Places of note

The Holy Stone of Clonrichert: Formerly at Fermanagh but moved to Craggy Island (as it was not doing very good business) the holy stone is the main attraction of the island following its upgrade to a Class II Relic. It was briefly removed following an altercation between Father Jack and a Bishop, when Jack caused the relic become to lodged in the bishop's anus.

The Field: While not actually a field, the area has fewer rocks in it than most other places on the island. The Field also hosts Fun Land, a carnival containing such events such as Freak Pointing, The Ladder, The Whirly-Go-Round, The Crane of Death, Goading the Fierce Man, The Tunnel of Goats, and The Spinning Cat. Dougal also claims Fun Land has a Spider-Baby, but this is the result of confusion over reality and something he dreamt.

The Craggy Island Crazy Golf Course: The course consisted of one hole with the easily discarded obstacle of a windmill.

The Picnic Spot: Even bleaker than other parts on the island, the picnic spot is home to a few deckchairs, a sign, and a list of rules, which includes no swearing. The spot is watched by Mr. Benson and his whistle.

Vaughans: A pub located in town that is visited by many of Craggy Island's Chinese residents.

O'Leary’s: Another pub. The threshold of this pub is the site of the mysterious Mud Angel. Legend had it that every Friday night, about closing time, the mysterious figure of a man appeared in the mud outside the pub. It was later revealed to be Father Jack.

O'Leary's: A small shop, which provides services ranging from groceries to book-makers to record sales. It is run by John and Mary O' Leary who regularly are involved in domestic violence moments before the priests enter the shop, only to portray the picture of marital bliss when in public.

The following locations may or may not be on the island. They have featured in the series, but it is unclear if the journey to reach them involved a boat-trip to the mainland:

The Magic Road: A bizarre freak of nature where nothing works like it is supposed to. Father Jack once fell victim to the road’s trickery while on holiday with Ted and Dougal at the nearby caravan park. His wheel chair rolled up the road and he fell off a cliff at the top.

The magic road is based on a real life location in Co. Sligo, where an optical illusion makes a road appear to defy gravity. This very location was advertised in a Sligo tourism video presented by Dermot Morgan, some years before Father Ted was filmed.

Saint Kevin's Stump: A tree stump of above average interest that is frequented by people from the caravan park.

Saint Clabbert's: Clabbert’s, also know as "Jurassic Park", is a home for elderly priests and sufferers of the hairy hands disease.

Saint Patrick's Hill: The hill is a popular spot for Lenten pilgrimages with people like Mrs. Doyle. Pilgrims climb to the top of the hill and are then chased back down with 'a big plank'. (presumably based on Croagh Patrick, which is often climbed barefoot by pilgrims on the last Sunday of July).

[edit] The "Real" Craggy Island

The real Craggy Island seen from helicopter shots is Inisheer. The actual parochial house used in the series is on the mainland in County Clare, near Lisdoonvarna. Drive south-east from Lisdoonvarna to Kilfenora and follow the road onwards to the tiny town of Kilnaboy. Once in the town, look for the left turn for the school (it's the only junction in town). Follow this road for a couple of miles. It is a very narrow secluded road, but all of a sudden you will emerge from the greenery to the sight of the Parochial House (in real life McCormack's at Glenquin). Vaughan's pub, where Ted is confronted by a crowd of angry Chinese in "Are You Right There, Father Ted?", is also located in Lisdoonvarna.

Father Ted
Characters
Father Ted Crilly | Father Dougal McGuire | Father Jack Hackett | Mrs. Doyle Bishop Brennan | Minor Characters
Major Cast and Crew
Dermot Morgan Ardal O'Hanlon | Frank Kelly | Pauline McLynn Arthur Mathews | Graham Linehan Pat Shortt | Jim Norton | Graham Norton | Tony Guilfoyle
Other Related Pages
List of Father Ted episodes | Craggy Island | My Lovely Horse | Feck