One of my favourite shows ever is Father Ted; it was comedic genius, from the script writing to the acting, it just didn’t and doesn’t get better than Father Ted.

The first of only three series played on our screens from 1995 until 1998 when Dermot Morgan, who played Father Ted Crilly, died suddenly.

Aged just 45, Dermot died from a heart attack during a celebratory party the day after filming the final episode of series 3. The script writers and the actors involved have all said since that they didn’t intend to produce any further series of Father Ted, even if Dermot had not died, but I guess we’ll never really know.

However, both Father Ted the series, and Dermot Morgan for his role, have achieved cult status and there is a special Friends of Ted festival – or Ted Fest – held annually on an island neighbouring Inis Oirr, whose coastline features the shipwreck that can be seen in the opening sequence of the series.

Last year, Ted fans camped on the island for the entire weekend and all proceeds went to the local charity Croí – the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation. Ted Fest is due to run again in 2009 as Ted Fest III and I’m hoping I might be able to attend next year.

And there’s much to celebrate about Father Ted! I’ve watched every episode dozens of times and they still make me fall about laughing, but if I had to choose my top three favourites they would be the following:

Top favourite – A Christmassy Ted

Second – Hell

Third – The Passion of St Tibulus

Here are some clips from these fabulous episodes but unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clip of Hell – in which Graham Norton stars as manic Father Noel and shares a holiday caravan with Ted and Dougal – so instead, there’s a clip from my fourth favourite episode, Good Luck Father Ted.

A Christmassy Ted… in this episode, Ted is awarded the Golden Cleric award for his quick thinking in getting himself and seven other Priests out of Ireland’s biggest lingerie section and poor Mrs Doyle constantly falls off the window ledge while putting up decorations.

The Passion of St Tibulus… where the Fathers have to demonstrate against the local cinema showing The Passion of St Tibulus and Ted says the classic line “Down with this sorta thing” followed by Dougal saying “Careful now”. Click here to view the clip.

Good Luck Father Ted… With the Telly Eirian boys coming to Craggy Island to interview Ted for an episode of ‘Faith Of Our Fathers’, only the perilous Funland fairground and Dougal’s Spider-Baby obsession can prevent Ted from becoming a television star. Click here to see the clip.

The show is irreverent, hugely funny and the characters are all independently hilarious. From Dougal’s stupidity, Mrs Doyle’s odd loyalty, Father Jack’s alcoholism and repulsive habits to Ted’s constant striving for fame and fortune, Father Ted is continually laugh out loud funny and it does it effortlessly. None of it feels contrived or even scripted, it just flows from one epic line and scenario to another.

My family and I spend a good deal of our time quoting lines from Father Ted – my kids were brought up watching Father Ted over and over and know it in that same way you seem to grow up knowing the words to Abba songs or the Lord’s Prayer; it’s just there…

And whenever anyone makes a cup of tea and someone else doesn’t want one, somebody is sure to say in Mrs Doyle styly, “Ah come on now! Will ye not have a little cup of tea? Go on go on go on, ah sure ye will now…”

Likewise if there’s cake around, one of us will insist someone else has some and will doubtless add another Mrs Doyle line… “Are you sure you won’t have some cake Father? It’s got cocaine in it…?”

We only ever use feck as our F word and/or fup and when anyone plans a cinema trip, several of us say “Down with this sorta ting” and “Careful now!”.

Father Ted has become a way of life in this house and while we may in fact be certifiable, we always end up rolling around laughing. My daughter and I do the best impersonations and have relatively passable Irish accents, at least that’s according to my Irish brother-in-law to whom I can’t speak without doing a Father Ted impersonation.

So finally, here’s a compilation of some of the best bits of Father Ted and especially those of Dermot Morgan.

You can see A Christmassy Ted on More4, Sunday 21st at 11.05pm or on Channel 4 at 10pm on Monday 22nd.