Arthur Mathews (writer)

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Arthur Mathews
Born
Termonfeckin, County Louth, Ireland[ citation needed ]
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, has either written or contributed to television comedies, such as Father Ted, Big Train, and Toast of London and Harry Enfield and Chums .

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. [1] [2] [3] The writing partnership had previously co-written the comedy Paris [4] (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. [5]

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. [6]

In late 2003, the two men were named one of the 50 funniest acts to work in television by The Observer . [7]

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. [8] [9] 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. [5]

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.

Matthews 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. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Father Ted</i> British sitcom set in Ireland (1995–1998)

Father Ted is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including a Christmas special, for a total of 25 episodes. It aired on Nine Network and ABC Television in Australia, and on TV2 in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Dougal McGuire</span> Character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted

Father Dougal McGuire is a character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, Dougal was portrayed by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon for the programme's three series. The character is a childlike, simple-minded Roman Catholic curate exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of Galway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Ted Crilly</span> Television situation comedy character

Father Ted Crilly is the eponymous main character of the British Channel 4 situation comedy Father Ted. Created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, Ted was portrayed by comedian Dermot Morgan for the programme's three series. The character is a morally dubious Roman Catholic priest exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of Galway in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Linehan</span> Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist (born 1968)

Graham Linehan is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms Father Ted (1995–1998), Black Books (2000–2004) and The IT Crowd (2006–2013), and he has written for shows including Count Arthur Strong, Brass Eye and The Fast Show. Early in his career, he partnered with the writer Arthur Mathews. Linehan has won five BAFTA awards, including Best Writer, Comedy, for The IT Crowd in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Kelly</span> Irish actor (1938–2016)

Francis Kelly was an Irish actor, singer and writer, whose career covered television, radio, theatre, music, screenwriting and film. He is best remembered for playing Father Jack Hackett in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.

Hippies is a six-part British television comedy series broadcast on BBC 2 from 12 November to 17 December 1999. It was created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, the writing partnership most famous for Father Ted, but the scripts were written by Mathews alone. It starred Simon Pegg, Sally Phillips, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Darren Boyd.

<i>The IT Crowd</i> British TV sitcom (2006–2013)

The IT Crowd is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fictional Reynholm Industries in London, the series revolves around the three staff members of its IT department: technical genius Maurice Moss (Ayoade); work-shy Roy Trenneman (O'Dowd); and Jen Barber (Parkinson), the department head/relationship manager who knows nothing about IT. The show also focuses on the bosses of Reynholm Industries: Denholm Reynholm and later, his son Douglas. Goth IT technician Richmond Avenal, who resides in the server room, also appears in a number of episodes.

"Entertaining Father Stone" is the second episode of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.

Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest is the sixth episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the season one finale. It was the first episode to be scripted and submitted by the writers.

<i>I, Keano</i>

I, Keano is a comedy musical play about footballer Roy Keane leaving the Republic of Ireland national football team before the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Paul Woodfull is an Irish writer, actor, comedian and musician. He has written two television series, a CD and the comedy musical play I, Keano. He is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.

Paul Tylak is an Irish writer, actor and comedian.

"Hell" is the first episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and the seventh episode overall.

"A Song for Europe" is the fifth episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 11th episode overall. It originally aired on 5 April 1996 and has since been recognised as one of the most popular episodes of the show.

"The Mainland" is the fourth episode of the third series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 21st episode overall. It was first broadcast on 3 April 1998.

Declan Lowney is an Irish television and film director. Known initially for directing musical events such as the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, Lowney is perhaps best known for his work on Irish and British television comedies such as Cold Feet, Little Britain and Father Ted for which he was awarded a BAFTA Award in 1995. He was awarded a second BAFTA Award in 2006 for his work on BBC comedy Help.

"Gin Soaked Boy" is a song by Irish chamber pop band The Divine Comedy. It was the second single from the album A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy, released in 1999 on Setanta Records. The song peaked at No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for two weeks.

<i>Paris</i> (1994 TV series) British TV series or program

Paris is a British sitcom produced by Talkback Productions for Channel 4. It was written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, best known for their later sitcom Father Ted. The show only lasted one series consisting of six episodes in October and November 1994. It featured the escapades of French artist Alain Degout, living in 1920s Paris, who wants to be famous, but his work gets him nowhere.

The Troggs Tapes is a bootleg recording of the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded in 1970, and consists of band members arguing over the recording of a song, with frequent profanity. It has become one of the best-known spoken-word bootleg recordings, and influenced work such as the film This is Spinal Tap.

References

  1. ↑ Review of Father Ted Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Mary Cummins, Irish Times , 25 April 1996
  2. ↑ Life After Ted Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Deirdre Falvey, Irish Times , 2 May 1998
  3. ↑ Aran Islands in Father Ted Row Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine RTÉ News, 21 January 2007
  4. ↑ "Paris". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  5. 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.
  6. ↑ Peace and Love, Man Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Review of Hippies, Irish Times , 6 November 1999
  7. ↑ The A-Z of laughter The Observer, 7 December 2003
  8. ↑ I, Keano Still Has Fans in Raptures Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Irish Examiner , 31 January 2007
  9. ↑ I, Keano – The Never Ending Story Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Edel Coffey, Sunday Tribune Review, 4 February 2007
  10. ↑ "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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