After Dinner Speakers: Ardal O'Hanlon, Julia Somerville, Peter Scudamore

Ardal began his show business career while at Dublin University where he and his friends would hire themselves out as wacky after-dinner speakers. After this he got together with two fellow university students, Barry Murphy and Kevin Gildea to form the comedy troupe, Mr Trellis. They established The Comedy Cellar, Ireland's first alternative comedy club in the upstairs room of The International Bar, Dublin. In 1994 Ardal and Kevin went to London to enter The Comedy Newcomer Of The Year competition at The Hackney Empire which Ardal won. It was while performing his stand-up routines in London that Ardal was spotted by Graham Lineham, who was casting for a new Channel 4 sitcom entitled "Father Ted". Ardal won the role of the innocent but extremely daft, Father Dougal McGuire and his career has gone from strength to strength since.