Viewers have said the same thing as Ardal O’Hanlon spoke about his father and his passing on the Late Late Show.
Known best for his role as Fr Dougal Maguire in Father Ted, Ardal has enjoyed a successful career throughout the years — most recently in How To Get to Heaven from Belfast.
On March 31, Ardal’s father and former Ceann Comhairle Rory O’Hanlon passed away, with Ardal opening up about his father’s death on the Late Late on Friday night.
Having served as a TD and having several ministerial jobs in government over the years, Ardal told host Patrick Kielty that his father lived ‘a very eventful life,’ but added that Rory O’Hanlon was ‘a great man, and a great dad.’
‘He was just flat out, all day long,’ Ardal said. ‘He was a GP to begin with — on call 24 hours a day — then he gravitated to politics. So he just went around like a mad eejit half the time.’
Speaking on his career as a politician, Ardal said that his father had a ‘great public service ethic,’ adding: ‘He just loved to help people. He had a great social conscience, he never turned anyone away — rich or poor, travellers, immigrants — he was a proper patriot, I have to say.’
Ardal went on to say that when his father was a GP, his kids would sometimes go on house calls with him, with Ardal revealing that those house visits made him into the man he is today.
‘We’d all be queueing up [like] “daddy, daddy, bring me, bring me.” It was just a great adventure, you know?’ Ardal said. ‘You’d be in the car with your dad, you’d have him all to yourself for the hour or so.
‘You’d often be brought into the houses — he was very well got, as they say. You witnessed all sorts of human life… all the suffering, all the joy, you witnessed it all as a very young kid.’
‘It was just the novelty of being in someone’s houses, and taking it all in. That hugely influenced me.’
People were moved by Ardal’s chat about his dad, with one writing on Twitter (X): ‘Wow! Ardal’s the image of his Dad.’
‘Ardal O’Hanlon on #latelate speaking about Rory as a country GP and going on calls really resonated. A different time,’ another added, while one commented on Instagram: ‘His dad instilled something very special into him.’
‘Builds resilience and an understanding that the world doesn’t revolve around the child,’ another added. ‘Great life lessons from your Dad Ardal. I am sure it influenced your career too.’
The Late Late Show can be watched back on the RTÉ Player.
