Arthur Mathews (writer)

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Arthur Mathews
Born
Termonfeckin, County Louth, Ireland [1]
Education Castleknock College, Dublin Institute of Technology [ citation needed ]
Occupation(s)Comedy writer, actor

Arthur Mathews is an Irish comedy writer and actor who, often with writing partners such as Graham Linehan, Paul Woodfull and Matt Berry, co-created and co-wrote the television comedies Father Ted , Big Train and Toast of London , and contributed to other comedy shows including Harry Enfield and Chums , The Fast Show , The Day Today , and Brass Eye .

Contents

Early life

Mathews attended Castleknock College, a private school run by Vincentian priests. He then graduated from the Dublin Institute of Technology with a degree in graphic design. He played drums in spoof U2 tribute act "The Joshua Trio" with Paul Woodfull, with whom he would later work on I, Keano . He worked as art editor for Hot Press , leaving in 1991 to move to London.

Writing career

Television

Mathews has contributed to many sketch shows, including Harry Enfield and Chums , The All New Alexei Sayle Show and the Ted & Ralph segments of The Fast Show .

However, it was with Father Ted (three series, 1995–1998) that he and Graham Linehan made their biggest impression. It debuted on Channel 4. [2] [3] [4] The writing partnership had previously co-written the comedy Paris [5] (one series, 1994), also for Channel 4.

Both Linehan and Mathews worked on the first series of sketch show Big Train , but Linehan dropped out for the second series. Mathews has also contributed to other British comedies such as Brass Eye , Jam , Black Books and later Toast of London . He later contributed sketches for Kevin Eldon, including the Amish Sex Pistols. [6]

In 1999, Linehan and Mathews created the sixties-set sitcom Hippies , but the six-part series (which starred Simon Pegg and Sally Phillips) was written by Mathews alone. [7]

In late 2003, the two men were named one of the 50 funniest acts to work in television by The Observer . [8]

Theatre

In 2005, Mathews, with Michael Nugent and Paul Woodfull, co-wrote I, Keano , a comedy musical play about footballer Roy Keane leaving the Republic of Ireland national football team before the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

It is presented as a mock-epic melodrama about an ancient Roman legion preparing for war. In its first two years, over half a million people watched it, generating €10m ($13m) in ticket sales. [9] [10] In January 2008, it began its fourth year of performances. He confirmed in 2018 that he and Linehan were working together on a Father Ted musical. [6]

Non-Fiction

In 2024, Mathews wrote the book Walled in by Hate: Kevin O'Higgins, His Friends and Enemies. This was a biography of the Irish politician Kevin O'Higgins. [11]

Television appearances

Linehan and Mathews appeared in the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge as two Irish television producers considering hiring Alan Partridge as a presenter. Mathews later starred in I Am Not An Animal , an animated comedy series about talking animals written by Peter Baynham.

Mathews also made four appearances on Father Ted: as Father Billy Kerrigan in Series 1, as one half of the picnic couple and as Father Ben in Series 2, and as Father Clarke in Series 3. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mackey, Liam (3 March 2018). "Arthur Mathews: Portrait of the artist as a League of Ireland fan". Irish Examiner.
  2. ↑ Review of Father Ted Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Mary Cummins, Irish Times , 25 April 1996
  3. ↑ Life After Ted Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Deirdre Falvey, Irish Times , 2 May 1998
  4. ↑ Aran Islands in Father Ted Row Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine RTÉ News, 21 January 2007
  5. ↑ "Paris". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Big Train at 20 - interview with Arthur Matthews". The Digital Fix. 23 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Peace and Love, Man Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Review of Hippies, Irish Times , 6 November 1999
  8. ↑ The A-Z of laughter The Observer, 7 December 2003
  9. ↑ I, Keano Still Has Fans in Raptures Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Irish Examiner , 31 January 2007
  10. ↑ I, Keano – The Never Ending Story Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Edel Coffey, Sunday Tribune Review, 4 February 2007
  11. ↑ O'Donovan, Diarmuid (13 July 2024), "Book Review: Kevin O'Higgins was man of contradictions", The Irish Examiner, Cork, archived from the original on 18 July 2024
  12. ↑ "Arthur Mathews | Writer, Actor, Producer". IMDb . Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Credits

Books

Cartoons

  1. ↑ A Side-Splitting Spoof Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Review of Well-Remembered Days, Terry Eagleton, Irish Times , 3 March 2001
  2. ↑ It’s Not a Satire, It’s Surreal Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Review of Well-Remembered Days, Brian Boyd, Irish Times , 10 March 2001
  3. ↑ Divine Comedy Archived 20 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Review of Well-Remembered Days, Harry McGee, Sunday Tribune , 11 March 2001
  4. ↑ Those Were The Days Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Review of Well-Remembered Days, Michael Clifford, Sunday Tribune , 18 March 2001
  5. ↑ Thank You For The Days Archived 22 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Review of Well-Remembered Days, Harry Guerin, RTÉ , 19 April 2001
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