For other places of the same name, see Rugged Island (disambiguation)

Rugged Island

Rugged Island can mean:* Rugged Island , one of the Antarctic South Shetland IslandsAlso, in fiction:* Rugged Island , an island on the UK/Irish sitcom Father Ted that is effectively a parallel universe...

.

Rugged Island is a fictional island on the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 sitcom Father Ted

Father Ted

Father 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...

.

It is effectively a parallel universe to the show's main setting, Craggy Island, with Father Dick Byrne their version of Ted, Father Cyril McDuff their version of Dougal, and Father Jim Johnson their version of Jack. They also have a housekeeper who looks remarkably like Mrs Doyle.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the similarity, the two islands constantly compete fiercely against each other. Father Ted maintains a long-standing feud with Father Dick Byrne. In one episode Ted tells Henry Sellers that Dick and his co-inhabitants are lepers and that Rugged Island is a leper colony. (Competition Time) It is unknown how the feud started, but Dougal once mentioned a "Scrabble

Scrabble

Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...

 fiasco" (where Father Byrne managed to get all of his words to spell "Useless priest, can't say Mass"). This feud has led to various ill-judged escapades, usually after Dick has telephoned Ted to tease him for some inadequacy or taunt him for some fault. These include the Craggy Islanders once attempting to win the nomination to represent Ireland in "Eurosong '96" (a spoof of the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

) for their composition "My Lovely Horse

My Lovely Horse

My Lovely Horse is a song featured in the hit comedy series Father Ted. It was written by Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews and Neil Hannon , and appeared in the episode "A Song for Europe", in which Ted and Dougal sing it for Ireland at "A Song For Ireland" , a contest to determine who will represent...

". The Rugged Islanders contest this but lose. However they have the last laugh as it is revealed the only reason Ted and Dougal's entry won is because RTÉ

RTE

RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

 can't afford to host yet another contest.

Ted and Dougal also attempt to escape to Rugged Island during Lent when Sister Assumpta arrives and puts them through a gruelling and punishing schedule in an attempt to keep them "on the straight and narrow". Once there they discover the Rugged Island priests bingeing on alcohol, smoking and skateboarding, despite the fact they had arranged to outdo one another by giving up their vices. As punishment Ted sends Sister Assumpta over to Rugged Island so the priests can endure the same suffering they have. (Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading)

Ted also loses a bet with Father Dick Byrne after cheating in the "Annual All-Priests Over 75's Indoor Football Challenge Match". (Escape from Victory

Escape from Victory

"Escape from Victory" is the 5th episode of the third series of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 22nd episode overall.-Synopsis:Dougal returns home to find Ted searching the parochial house frantically, because he believed they've been bugged by Dick Byrne, ahead of the annual "All-Priests...

) As a forfeit he has to "kick Bishop Brennan up the arse

Kicking Bishop Brennan up the Arse

"Kicking Bishop Brennan up the Arse" is the 6th episode of the third series of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 23rd episode overall.The story continues from the previous episode, "Escape from Victory".-Synopsis:...

".

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Episodes in which Rugged Island features:

• Competition Time
• Song for Europe
  Song for Europe (Father Ted)
  "A Song For Europe" was the 5th episode of the second season of the Channel 4 television sitcom Father Ted.- Synopsis :Dougal has "Eurosong fever", months ahead of the competition. After initially rejecting Dougal's suggestion that they write a song to represent Ireland in the competition, Ted...
  
  
• Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading
• Escape from Victory
  Escape from Victory
  "Escape from Victory" is the 5th episode of the third series of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 22nd episode overall.-Synopsis:Dougal returns home to find Ted searching the parochial house frantically, because he believed they've been bugged by Dick Byrne, ahead of the annual "All-Priests...