Friday 4 March 2016

Frank Kelly’s Father Jack Hackett – Father Ted





When the first episode, Good Luck Father Ted, first aired on 21st April 1995, we were introduced to three priests who were exiled to Craggy Island for various reasons. Among them was Father Jack Hackett, played by Frank Kelly, a raging alcoholic with limited vocabulary.

The following episodes saw Father Jack Hackett and his antics: Including drinking and sleeping, and sleeping and drinking, as well as being afraid of nuns, finding a damaging video of the Arch Bishop Brennen with his secret son, and having that one day where he’s sober. But when he finds out that he is still on the island, he freaks out.

Before he was condemned to the island, he was a working priest within the community, who worked at a catholic school as a preacher, and in one episode, it was revealed that he was a very talented footballer. Another episode revealed that even though he resorted to his ways on the island, beforehand he was a well-respected priest, until that fateful incident at a wedding and a christening that saw him exiled to the island.

The person behind the character, Frank Kelly was also a classically trained actor, where he performed on stage, but is mostly known for his comedy roles. As well as acting credits, he also performed the single parodying 12 Days of Christmas, where he received the gifts from a friend and described each day’s activity via a letter to that friend.


On 28th February, after suffering from a heart attack, Frank Kelly sadly passed away at the age of 77, which was 18 years to the day after his co-star Dermot Morgan, who played the title role, Father Ted, after suffering from a heart attack one day after filming the last ever episode. It was later revealed that Frank Kelly was also suffering from Parkinson’s disease and was recovering from bowel cancer.

Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)

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