Craggy Island

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, desolate and otherwise unpleasant, Craggy Island is not found on any map and contains no 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.

Description

The population of Craggy Island consists of numerous eccentrics, a small Chinese community, and one Māori. There is one main town where most of the people and buildings are located. The Parochial House is located on a different part of the island. 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 the British government. 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 the 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". It rarely carries any news of note. 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 capitalize on the excitement of the locals. Despite being so remote and unpleasant the island also has an internet café, cinema, lighthouse, an isolation tank called 'Lonesome Float' and an aviary.

Crime is not much of a problem on the island, with the notable exception of a "crazed murderer still at large" reported in a copy of "Craggy island Examiner", being read by Tom in "Good Luck, Father Ted". It is intimated in the same episode that Tom may indeed be the crazed murderer in question. However, in spite (or possibly because) of this lack of crime, 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 neighboring Rugged Island is strikingly similar to Craggy Island in people and description.

The island's only place of interest is the Holy stone of Clonrichert, which is basically a small rock on a pedestal.

All vehicles (such as Ted's Ford Cortina, the raffle prize car and the milkfloat) were apparently registered in Laois, Ireland's only doubly-landlocked county, as they have number plates with a "CI" index mark. These letters were designated for Laois County Council in 1958 prior to the current numbering system introduced in 1987. [cite web |url= http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1958/en/si/0014.html |title= Irish Statute Book, Statutory Instruments, S.I. No. 14/1958 — Road Vehicles (Index Marks) Regulations, 1958. |accessdate= 2007-06-01 |author= Ireland's Office of the Attorney General |date= |publisher= |language= English]

Places of note

The Holy Stone of Clanrichert: 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 after someone was lured to it. 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. ("Tentacles of Doom")

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. ("Good Luck, Father Ted")

The Craggy Island Crazy Golf Course: The course consisted of one hole with the easily discarded obstacle of a windmill. ("Entertaining Father Stone")

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. Its only regular visitors are an aggressively territorial couple who drive away anyone else wishing to sit at the lone picnic table. They do, however, abide by the 'no swearing' rule religiously, telling Father Ted to 'fup off' and calling him a 'backstard'. (The Old Grey Whistle Theft)

Vaughans: A pub located in town that is visited by many of Craggy Island's Chinese residents. (Are You Right There, Father Ted?)

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 rolling in the mud in a drunken stupor.

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.

Possibly on Craggy Island

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. ("Hell")

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. ("Hell")

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). ("Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading")

Saint Clabbert's: Clabbert’s, also known as "Jurassic Park", is a home for elderly priests and sufferers of the hairy hands disease. ("New Jack City")

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. Vaughan's pub, where Ted is confronted by a crowd of angry Chinese in "Are You Right There, Father Ted?", is also located in Kilfenora.

The football match at Ted Fest is used to award the honorary title of Craggy Island to the winning team.

References