'Golden clerics' celebrate Fr Ted

Three series of Father Ted aired between 1993 and 1998

A festival marking the 10th anniversary of the final episode of the cult TV comedy Father Ted is getting under way off the Irish west coast.

The week-long TedFest II will include the Lovely Girls contest, the Golden Cleric awards, Craggy Island World Cup and Buckaroo speed dating.

The events kick off at Kilfenora village in County Clare, before moving to the wild and windswept Inis Mor, an island off the County Galway coast.

The festival began as an idea floated on a website for Father Ted fanatics.

'Conversation and memories'

The three series of Father Ted aired on Channel 4 in the UK between 1993 and 1998 and also starred Ardal O'Hanlon as Father Dougal, Frank Kelly as Father Jack and as Pauline McLynn as Mrs Doyle.

It was filmed in Ireland and London, spawning catchphrases such as Mrs Doyle's "Go on, go on, go on" and gaining a loyal following, referred to in Ireland as "Tedheads".

Scriptwriters Arthur Matthews and Graham Linehan are expected to return to Kilfenora this week to unveil a plaque to commemorate the area's connection with Father Ted.

They are to host an "evening of conversation and memories" in the local community hall.

A barn is the location for the final regional heat for the Lovely Girls contest, before moving to Inis Mor on Saturday and Sunday, where there will be a "priests and nuns" five-aside football tournament.

Comedian Dermot Morgan, who played Father Ted, died of a heart attack just 24 hours after finishing the recording of the last episode in February 1998.