Ardal O’Hanlon was born in County Monaghan in 1965. Starting out as a standup comedian in Dublin, he got his big break in 1995 playing the gormless Father Dougal McGuire in Channel 4’s hit sitcom Father Ted. In 1998, he published a novel called The Talk of the Town. On BBC, he played the lead roles in My Hero and Death in Paradise. Now O’Hanlon stars as Jack in a new production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa at the National Theatre until 27 May. He lives in Dublin with his wife, Melanie, with whom he has three children.
