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Ardal O'Hanlon
Father Dougal McGuire portrait.jpg
O'Hanlon as Fr. Dougal McGuire
Born (1965-10-08) 8 October 1965 (age 59)
Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland
Education Blackrock College
Alma mater NIHE, Dublin
Occupation
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active 1991–present
Spouse(s) Melanie O'Hanlon
Children 3
Parent(s)
  • Rory O'Hanlon (father)
Relatives Peter Fenelon Collier

Ardal O'Hanlon (born October 8, 1965) is a well-known Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is famous for playing funny characters like Father Dougal McGuire in the TV show Father Ted. He also starred as George Sunday, a superhero, in My Hero. Later, he played DI Jack Mooney in the detective series Death in Paradise. Ardal O'Hanlon has also written a book called The Talk of the Town.

Early Life and Education

Ardal O'Hanlon was born in Carrickmacross, a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. His father, Rory O'Hanlon, was a doctor and also a politician. Ardal was one of six children in his family.

He went to school at Blackrock College in Dublin. After that, he studied communications at the National Institute for Higher Education in Dublin. This school is now known as Dublin City University. He finished his studies in 1987.

Starting a Comedy Career

Ardal O'Hanlon helped start a comedy club called the International Comedy Cellar. He created it with two other comedians, Kevin Gildea and Barry Murphy. At that time, Dublin did not have many places for stand-up comedy.

As a stand-up comedian, Ardal won an award in 1994. It was called the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. For a while, he even hosted a TV show called The Stand Up Show.

Famous TV Roles

Ardal O'Hanlon became very famous when he was chosen to play Father Dougal McGuire in the TV show Father Ted. This show ran from 1995 to 1998. Father Dougal was a very funny and often confused priest. Once, while filming, Ardal went to buy shoes while still in his priest costume. The shop assistant thought he was a real priest and offered him the shoes for free! In 1995, he won an award for this role, called the Top TV Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards.

After Father Ted, Ardal O'Hanlon starred in another comedy series called My Hero starting in 2000. In this show, he played George Sunday, a superhero from another planet. George tried to save the world while also living a normal life in the suburbs. Ardal played this role for many years.

He also provided the voice for the main character in three Christmas cartoon specials called Robbie the Reindeer. In 2007, he appeared in an episode of Doctor Who called "Gridlock". In this episode, he played a cat-like creature named Thomas Kincade Brannigan.

From 2017 to 2020, Ardal O'Hanlon took on a new lead role. He played DI Jack Mooney, a detective, in the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise. He later decided to leave the show in 2020.

Other Projects

Ardal O'Hanlon has also written a novel. It is called The Talk of the Town and was published in 1998. The book is about a teenage boy and his friends.

In 2006, he hosted a TV series called Leagues Apart. In this show, he explored big football rivalries in different European countries. He also presented another show in 2007 called So You Want To Be Taoiseach?, which gave funny advice on how to become the leader of Ireland.

In 2021, Ardal O'Hanlon was a contestant on Taskmaster, a popular comedy game show. He finished in fourth place. In 2023, he acted in a play called Dancing at Lughnasa at the Royal National Theatre. In 2024, he presented his first show in the Irish language, Inis na nIontas, exploring islands around Ireland.

Personal Life

Ardal O'Hanlon met his wife, Melanie, when they were teenagers. They are married and have three children together. He is a big fan of the football team Leeds United.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Moll Flanders Gentleman From East Chiswick
1997 The Butcher Boy Mr. Purcell
1998 Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll Eddie Johnny Short film
2002 Another Bobby O'Hara Story... Bobby O'Hara
2005 The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby Coconut Tam
2007 Blind Eye Immigration Official Short film
2008 Tales of the Riverbank Hammy Hamster (voice) Direct-to-DVD
2009 Wide Open Spaces Myles
2016 Donkeys Derek Short film
Handsome Devil Dan Roche
Twice Shy Brendan O'Meara
2021 Rian McCarthy Short film
2024 My Freaky Family Nerlin Flood
TBA Fran the Man Jim O'Dea Post production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995–1998 Father Ted Father Dougal McGuire Series 1–3 (25 episodes)
1996 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Series 8; Episode 7
1997 Top of the Pops Himself - Guest Presenter Series 34; Episode 5
1999 Hooves of Fire Robbie the Reindeer (voice) Television film
The Comedy Trail: A Shaggy Dog Story George Sunday / Thermoman Television Special
1999–2001 Big Bad World Eamon Donaghy Series 1–3 (16 episodes)
2000–2006 My Hero George Sunday / Thermoman Series 1–6 (45 episodes)
2002 Legend of the Lost Tribe Robbie the Reindeer (voice) Television film
2005 Blessed Gary Chandler Episodes 1–8
2006 Leagues Apart Himself - Presenter Episodes 1–6
2007 Close Encounters of the Herd Kind Robbie the Reindeer (voice) Television film
Doctor Who Thomas Brannigan Series 3; Episode 3: "Gridlock"
2008 Who Do You Think You Are? Himself Series 1; Episode 4: "Ardal O'Hanlon"
2009 Val Falvey, TD Val Falvey Episodes 1–6
Skins Kieran Series 3; Episodes 1 & 6: "Everyone" and "Naomi"
2010 Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Himself Series 2; Episode 6: "Leeds"
2013 London Irish Chris 'Da' Lynch Mini-series (4 episodes)
2014 Lily's Driftwood Bay Bull Dozer Series 1; Episode 24: "Stop! Watch"
2015 Celebrity Mastermind Himself - Contestant Series 14; Episode 1
Cucumber Brian McCoy Mini-series; Episode 4
Nelly & Nora Dad (voice) 24 episodes
After Hours Peter Hannigan Episodes 1–6
2016 Ireland with Ardal O'Hanlon Himself - Presenter Episodes 1–3
2017–2020 Death in Paradise DI Jack Mooney Series 6–9 (24 episodes)
2019 Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party Himself - Presenter Television film
2019–2022 Derry Girls Eamonn Series 2; Episode 4: "The Curse" and Series 3; Episode 7: "The Agreement"
2021 Would I Lie to You? Himself - Panellist Series 15; Christmas Special
2022 Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything Conall Series 1; Episodes 1–5
Taskmaster Himself - Contestant Series 13; Episodes 1–10
Countdown Himself Dictionary Corner. Series 86 & 88 (10 episodes)
2023 The Woman in the Wall Dara Episodes 2 & 3: "Show Thyself" and "Knock Knock"
2023–2024 Extraordinary Martin (voice) Series 1 & 2 (8 episodes)
2024 Celebrity Catchphrase Himself - Contestant Series 9; Episode 9: "Chris Bisson, Ruth Madeley and Ardal O'Hanlon"
Return to Paradise DI Jack Mooney Episodes 1 & 6: "R.I.P. Tide" and "Oh Mine Papa"
Richard Osman's House of Games Himself - Contestant Series 8; Episodes 51–55 (Week 11)

Awards

Year Award Name
1994 Hackney Empire New Act of the Year
1995 Top TV Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards

See Also

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