Ardal O'Hanlon (; born October 8, 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in My Hero (2000–2005), and DI Jack Mooney in Death in Paradise (2017–2020). He has written three novels The Talk of the Town (1998), Brouhaha (2022) and A Plot to Die For (2026).
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Early life
O'Hanlon was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, the son of Fianna Fáil TD and physician Rory O'Hanlon and Teresa (née Ward). He is the third of six children and has three brothers and two sisters. His paternal grandfather, Michael 'Mick' O'Hanlon, was a member of the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and assisted members of Michael Collins' 'Squad' on Bloody Sunday.
O'Hanlon was raised Catholic. Growing up, he was "watchful [...] shy, weird, awkward" and had a great interest in literature and knowledge. Due to his father working from home as a GP, O'Hanlon and his siblings would often enter the house through the windows to avoid the long queues of patients. His father's political status also meant that the family received multiple death threats, including a bomb scare. Due to the threats, O'Hanlon was afraid to sleep at night if his father was not home.
O'Hanlon's father sent him to boarding school at Blackrock College in Dublin, where he began to spend more time writing comedy and poetry. He graduated in 1987 from the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin (now Dublin City University), with a degree in communication studies.
His first job outside of Ireland was in a pea-canning factory in Norfolk when he was 17. He has also worked as a check-in clerk for an airline.
Career
With Kevin Gildea and Barry Murphy, O'Hanlon founded the International Comedy Cellar, upstairs in the International Bar on Dublin's South Wicklow Street. Dublin had no comedy scene at the time. As a stand-up comic, O'Hanlon won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1994, and was for a time the presenter of The Stand Up Show. For the first fifteen years of his stand-up career, he suffered from debilitating nerves before gigs; "I would get into bed, I'd be sick, I wouldn't be able to eat or read or concentrate on anything — it would go on for hours."
O'Hanlon was cast as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted (1995–1998), which he said was his "first proper job in television". During filming, O'Hanlon went to buy shoes. Still being in costume, the seller thought he was a real priest and offered the footwear for free. He and Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) often did their own stunts, and he recalled that on one occasion they were dragged through a field behind a tractor. In 1995, he received the Top TV Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards for this role. In 1995, he appeared as Father Dougal in a Channel 4 ident ("Hello, you're watching ... television"), and during Comic Relief on BBC1. This was followed by the award-winning short comedy film Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll.
In a 2019 interview, O'Hanlon said he had attempted to distance himself from Father Ted once the show had finished. He moved into straight acting, alongside Emma Fielding and Beth Goddard, in the ITV comedy-drama Big Bad World, which aired for three series in summer 1999 and autumn 2001. He also had a minor role in The Butcher Boy as Joe's (Francie's best friend) father, and appeared in an episode of the original Whose Line is it Anyway?. In 2000, O'Hanlon starred in the comedy series My Hero, in which he played a naive superhero from the planet Ultron. His character juggled world-saving heroics with life in suburbia. He stayed in the role until the first episode of series 6 in July 2006, when he was replaced by James Dreyfus during the same episode. In September 2001, O'Hanlon appeared on stage alongside Moby at the Slane Festival to perform a duet of My Lovely Horse.
O'Hanlon provided the voice of the lead character in the three Christmas television cartoon specials of Robbie the Reindeer. He appeared in the 2005 BBC One sitcom Blessed, written by Ben Elton, which was publicly slated by Jonathan Ross, albeit in jest, at the 2005 British Comedy Awards. Towards the end of 2005, O'Hanlon played an eccentric Scottish character, Coconut Tam, in the family based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby. In 2015, he appeared on the same channel as incompetent angel Smallbone in the sitcom The Best Laid Plans.
Personal life
O'Hanlon met his wife Melanie as a teenager. They have a son who lives in Houston, Texas, and two daughters. O'Hanlon is a supporter of Leeds United and is a club tennis player.
Religious and political views
O'Hanlon is a Catholic. Since childhood, he has distanced himself from his father's right-wing political views. He is critical of the Trump administration, and a supporter of Palestine in the Gaza war.
In response to Father Ted writer Graham Linehan's anti-transgender views, O'Hanlon stated that he is "baffled" by Linehan's stance and "feels sorry" for him. He went on to say, "I don't know why he feels the need to do it. I mean, what transgender issues have to do with Graham I really can't for the life of me figure out," and "like most human beings, you just want everyone to be happy."
