A gentle, urbane and analytical person, Kelly once told me: “Father Ted is not a lampoon of the church at all. It’s a dysfunctional little family, and it’s a very convenient umbrella to bring these people together under. Ted is a guy who is really trying to do it properly. He’s very flawed because he’s greedy and has a background of some embezzlement; he’s weak. Dougal is a dum-dum, which you will get in any job. But my character is an exaggeration of a problem that exists within the church: superannuated, alcoholic, ancient priests who have to be looked after by younger men.” In one episode Father Jack was described by Ted (Dermot Morgan) and Dougal (Ardal O’Hanlon), in alternate sentences, thus: “Mid-50s to mid-80s. Tremendous smell of vegetables off him for some reason. Angry man, very angry. Hates children. Likes a drink.”The last comment is something of an understatement – Father Jack roars constantly for drink and if denied alcohol will swig down Toilet Duck, Harpic, floor polish or brake fluid, and enjoys throwing whiskey bottles at the TV screen. He becomes violent if provoked, punching people in the face, but most of the time dozes fitfully in his chair, dreaming of drink and schoolgirls. “Father Jack is not a man I would leave in charge of my children,” said Kelly.
Kelly was born Francis O’Kelly in the south County Dublin village of Blackrock, to Charles and Cathleen, and stayed in and around the area all his life. He had five siblings and his father, known as CEK, was a well-known cartoonist and founder of the satirical magazine Dublin Opinion.
Kelly studied law at University College Dublin, where he spent much of his time with the drama society, prompting his decision that a career as an actor was preferable to that of a barrister. Out of work in the early 1960s, he was offered casual journalism shifts on the Irish Press and later the Irish Independent, then took a staff job on the listings magazine RTÉ Guide. He enjoyed the work but, “I realised I’m permanent and pensionable and I’ve got a wife and kids and I’ll never get out if I don’t resign, because I want to be an actor.”
Because of his flair for comedy, and unrestrained all-or-nothing style, he gravitated towards the popular stage rather than the classics and worked as a “feed” for some of the great variety comedians of the day: Jack Cruise, Cecil Sheridan and Jimmy O’Dea.
Gradually, television started to play a greater part in his career, first with RTÉ’s Newsbeat, a news/satire show, then the hugely popular Hall’s Pictorial Weekly, which ran for 12 years from 1970. It was in that show (plus the Glen Abbey RadioShow) that he created the characters that made him a household name in Ireland: a gallery of apoplectic farmers and incoherent backwoods politicians that may have been wildly over-the-top but was rooted in an authentic Irish rural eccentricity.
His character Gobnait O’Lunacy went on to release the novelty record Christmas Countdown, which reached No 26 in the UK singles chart in 1984, leading to an appearance on Top of the Pops. The Queen was highly amused by the record, and Kelly treasured a letter from Buckingham Palace telling him so. He also starred in the popular children’s programme Wanderly Wagon, playing several parts and writing many of the scripts.
It was these unhinged performances, remembered from their childhoods, that led to Linehan and Matthews suggesting him for Father Jack. Physically, it was hard for the veteran actor, and the rest of the cast would not eat with him when he was in full make-up because he made them feel sick. “They put a special lens in one eye,” he said, “and it was a very discommoding kind of thing. They used oatmeal and glue and rubber stuff on my face. They used Vaseline and something else to make these awful things for my mouth and my ears and so on. It was a very itchy part.”
His portrayal of an appalling priest brought worldwide recognition to this reflective, scholarly and rather diffident man, but his own strong faith he mostly shied from discussing.
Kelly’s first film role was as a prison officer escorting Michael Caine out of a cell in The Italian Job (1969), and he also appeared in Rat (2000) and as Pierce Brosnan’s father in Evelyn (2002). In 2003 he had a major success as the Labour leader John Smith in the British television drama The Deal, and he played the judge in Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie (2014). In 2010 he joined the cast of the ITV soapEmmerdale, playing Dermot, Declan Lacey’s father, but left the series after five months because he missed his family.
He remained justifiably proud of his work on Father Ted and was always prepared to drop into character and shout “Drink! Feck! Arse!” when spotted by excited fans in the street or at airports.
In 1964 he married Bairbre (nee Neldon), a drama teacher. She survives him, as do their five daughters, two sons and 17 grandchildren.
• Frank Kelly, comedy actor, born 28 December 1938; died 28 Feburary 2016
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