Journaling the Month: October 2017

So on top of quite a few auditions for TV roles, I've had a few productive meetings re Christmas work in Enniskillen. Having missed out on Christmas work last year, having grown used to working with Laughlines, it was good to get this sorted (Laughlines then got in touch about work that would directly clash after I had already committed, was really disappointed I had to turn them down.)

Ecumenical Matters - The Father Ted Podcast review: Part 2

I called the first part of this look back a review. In hindsight, I probably should have called it a retrospective, but hopefully review has more SEO benefits!

I find it a bit odd that I haven't actually had much negative feedback about the podcast,

constructive or other wise. It's currently sitting on a healthy five full stars on iTunes (the holy grail of podcast hosting - incidentally I've recently switched to Android and no podcast app holds a candle to the simple user-friendly efficiency of the iPhone's default app. Why is there so many options, Podcast Addict?), and comments on the Facebook page have been overwhelmingly supportive.

Press Release: FATHER TED PODCAST TO DECLARE FANS’ FAVOURITE EPISODE

• Belfast-based Father Ted podcast, Ecumenical Matters to reveal results of months-long fan poll
• Podcast covered every episode of the classic sitcom with weekly hour long discussion with a different guest from local arts and music scenes
• Host James McAnespy has performed professionally as a Father Dougal impersonator - and had to respond to Graham Linehan’s dislike of these

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

===========================================================================

A Belfast-based podcast that has forensically studied each episode of the seminal nineties sitcom Father Ted is set to reveal the results of a poll where fans chose their favourite episode of the show.

Having undergone a weekly hour-long discussion on each episode of the classic show, the panel - made up of host James McAnespy and a variety of guests from a variety of performance and comedy fields - were asked if they felt the episode deserved a nomination as a ‘Top 5 Contender’ to be decided at the conclusion of the podcast. Listeners of the podcast were then invited to vote on the episodes and the results are now in and are set to be revealed in the podcast’s final episode.

Father Ted was a hugely popular British sitcom about three dysfunctional priests who were sequestered on a remote island off Ireland’s west coast that ran on Channel 4 from 1995 to 1998. Written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews, the show still enjoys a remarkably large following, particularly in Ireland, and is still broadcast on More4.

In 2016, actor, writer and Father Ted fan, James McAnespy started a weekly podcast that explored each episode individually to see how it held up to modern standards of comedy.

“Each week we break down episodes and try to give better context for viewers - especially viewers who wouldn't be familiar with the Irish and Catholic aspects of the show,” James explains. “A particular example is our detailing of Bishop Brennan's first appearance, and how it was directly inspired by the scandal of the real life Bishop of Galway who had a son in America, or we provide more context for Dougal's night wear, the Ireland football jersey and why it would have been important to him in the mid 1990s.”

Regular features include a running count of Mrs Doyle's 'Ah Go Ons', a 'Meet your Maker' where the panel spot appearances of writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews in the show, ‘Jack’s Drinks Cabinet,’ listing every drink Jack has imbibed, and the ‘Fillum Collection’ - a definitive list of the films that the priests have watched.

“The show is still hilarious, even after all these years, and multiple viewings, I’m still finding myself cracking up at it,” James said. “You can go anywhere in the world you will still find someone who can quote the lines back to you!”

The guests on the podcast were drafted from James’ huge network of artists and comedians from his work as a writer and actor in Belfast and London. Guests have included the street artist Friz (Marian Noone) and her husband Gerry Norman of A Plastic Rose, performance poet and musician Colin Hassard, Comedy duo Victoria E Armstrong and David Doherty-Jebb, as well a host of other performers and writers from Belfast and beyond.

Over the course of the podcast, James recorded mostly in his central-Belfast flat, but he also recorded episodes in London, a live episode as part of Culture Night Belfast (where it was one of the festival’s Best Bits) and even in a public square during the Edinburgh festival, while cellist Ursula Burns could be heard in the background.

The podcast dove right into a controversy, by responding directly to Graham Linehan's distaste of tribute shows - James has performed as a tribute to Father Dougal in a number of these shows. During the podcast covering the seminal episode Speed 3 - where Dougal is trapped on a milk float by a randy milkman - James played a clip of Linehan from an interview with Richard Herring, released a day before recording and responded directly to the creator's complaints.

All the podcast episodes are available to download for free on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/ecumencial-matters-father/id1116660897?mt=2), Soundcloud and all major podcast platforms, and the results episode will be release on the 31st January. Listeners can also interact with the show on the Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/EcumicalMatters

======================================================================

Ecumenical Matters: Episode 25 - A Christmassy Ted

IT'S CHRISTMAS! So naturally it's Golden Cleric time on Craggy Island! Dirty Words members Colin Hassard and Ashley Manners get trapped with Ted and Dougal in the Largest Lingerie Department in Ireland. Mrs Doyle gets a new, mechanical nemesis and Jack prepares for his own awards. 

Ash (left) was getting some good drinking done for Chrstmas the night before.
Colin is channeling his inner Liam Gallagher!

Subscribe now to get a new episode every Sunday morning - just in time for Mass! Subscribe on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/ecumencial-matters-father/id1116660897?mt=2) or search for Father Ted on your favourite podcast provider and leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Check out Dirty Words on Youtube - this is the track we sampled on the podcast.

Episode 22 (LIVE!) - Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse

LIVE EPISODE! We broadcast live from the Fenderesky Gallery on Belfast's North Street during Culture Night Belfast 2016 in front of an adorning audience and streamed to Facebook Live. All with the obligatory Craggy Island production values!

After losing the bet to Dick Byrne in the Over 75s Football Challenge in the last episode, Ted has to kick Bishop Brennan up the arse to satisfy his forfeit. Dougal is on hand to document the kicking with photographic evidence, while Jack and Mrs Doyle have their own way of dealing with the world's most sarcastic priest.

Subscribe now to get a new episode every Sunday morning - just in time for Mass! Subscribe on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/ecume…d1116660897?mt=2) or search for Father Ted on your favourite podcast provider and leave a comment on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EcumenicalMatters.

Ecumenical Matters - The Father Ted Podcast

Father Ted is one of the most iconic shows in Irish TV history, or as James McAnespy put it while hosting the latest episode of Ecumenical Matters - The Father Ted Podcast, it is now an artefact of Irish culture.

In the weekly podcast, released every Sunday (just in time for Mass), James gathers a new guest or two from Northern Ireland's rich arts scene to do a full run down of each episode of the legendary show. Previous guests have been poet Colin Hassard (find his work here), games streamer Vincent Kettle (@flimosh on Beam.pro), vlogger Derm McGuigan (Youtube channel), improv artist Marcus Keeley (@MarcusKeeley) and many more.

There are nine episodes available, with more to follow each week, so check out the full set on SoundCloud, or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, aCast, PodcastAddict or your favourite podcast platform.

In Episode 9 - Tentacles of Doom, London Comedy Writers members Olly Allsop (Soundcloud and Jordan Birch (@JordanBirch  attend the upgrading of the Holy Stone of Clonrickert to a Class 2 Relic. Hosting three bishops on the island is going to be the highlight of Mrs Doyle's career, but unfortunately she's lost her contact lenses. Dougal philosophises on the nature of Heaven and Hell and all that, while Ted has to bring Jack through a few elocution lessons ("Th-th-th-that...").

We also share our own Gary Lineker Ghost Stories, the mechanics of Buckaroo (The Sport of Kings), and Dougal's Bjork obsession. It's a Priest thing, you wouldn't understand.