Ardal O'Hanlon is an
IrishIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for his roles in television
sitcomsA situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
as Father Dougal McGuire in
Father TedFather Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
and George Sunday in
My Hero.
O'Hanlon was born in 1965 in
CarrickmacrossCarrickmacross or Carrickmacros is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 4,387 according to the 2006 census, making it the second largest town in the county. The town won the prestigious European Entente Florale Silver Medal Award. It is a market town which...
, Co. Monaghan,
IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, the son of
Rory O'HanlonRory O'Hanlon is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency from 1977 until 2011, and also served in a range of cabinet positions and as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann....
, an Irish politician and doctor, and has five siblings. RTÉ's
Who do you think you are? programme on Monday 6 October 2008 examined Ardal's family tree. He discovered that his paternal grandfather, Michael O'Hanlon, a
UCDUniversity College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
medicine student, had joined the
Irish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
during the
Irish War of IndependenceThe Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and was a member of
Michael CollinsMichael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
's squad which assassinated British secret service agents on the morning of
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed – fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners....
.
