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4[[quoteright:350:[[Film/StellaDays https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/22rdp_stella_span_jumbo.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:350:Creator/MartinSheen[[note]]Born Ramón Estévez, Irish Catholic on his mother's side, Spanish Catholic on his father's[[/note]] as Fr. Daniel Barry.]]
6
7->''"We used to grow priests in Ireland. We used to grow them from bits of people that we didn't like. But we over-planted. We had an epidemic. We were flooded with them. So, we tried to engage the rest of the world in a priest-for-potato swap."''
8-->-- Irish comedian '''Tommy Tiernan'''
9
10Irish Catholic priests or nuns, basically, turn up in a lot of places. It's like Ireland exports them.
11
12This was [[TruthInTelevision indeed once very common]] back in TheFifties and earlier when Ireland essentially ''did'' export clergy.[[note]]The Irish tradition of exporting Catholic clergy arguably goes back to [[TheLowMiddleAges the 6th century]], when the sainted Irish abbots Columba and Columbanus evangelized and founded monasteries in Scotland and France, respectively. Both took significant numbers of Irish monks with them to help. It should also be noted that when dealing with different ethnic communities - German, Czech, Polish, etc - some Bishops tried to assign clergy of the same nationalities. [[/note]] In part this was due to the tradition of Irish priests and nuns going overseas both as students and missionaries and in part simply due to the very high emigration rate in Ireland (12.7 people per 1000 in 1950). It also runs with the stereotype, within Britain and the US, that Irish Catholics are particularly devout.
13
14Having said that, this is definitely not the case today; changing demographics and the growth of secularism mean that these days, Ireland does not even train enough priests for ''her own'' needs, and has to import from Poland and Africa. Thus, unless the priest or nun is very elderly or is in a {{period piece}}, he or she is not too likely to be Irish. An exception is the United States, where even if priests who actually came from Ireland are fairly rare, Irish-descended clergy dominate the church hierarchy; there's a very good chance that any given American Catholic archbishop or Cardinal (both in fiction and reality) is Irish--it's something of a bit of a joke within the American Church that all the American Cardinals seem to trace at least part of their ancestry from the Emerald Isle.[[note]]Even where you wouldn't expect it--the Cardinal who ordered the construction of the current seat of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is Roger Cardinal Mahoney[[/note]] However, the same is ''not'' true of the parishioners; [[http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/publications/american-nones-the-profile-of-the-no-religion-population/ religious surveys]] done within the last ten years show that Irish Americans are one of the most secularized ethnic communities in America.[[note]]About a third of non-religious Americans claim Irish ancestry, as opposed to just 12% of the total US population. If one figures that about 15% of all Americans are non-religious, then that figure rises to more than 40% for Irish Americans -- numbers comparable to the average Western European country.[[/note]] In addition, having been born and raised in America, Irish priests are unlikely to have a heavy Irish accent despite what you find on TV.
15
16Nevertheless, stock characters die hard (as OfficerOHara can attest), and even if doesn't make much sense any more, Irish priests abroad are not quite a DeadHorseTrope yet.
17
18See also ChristianityIsCatholic and BadHabits.
19
20In terms of rank, the [[AuthorityTropes authority tropes]] arguably equal are BadassPreacher, CorruptCorporateExecutive, PreacherMan, PedophilePriest, {{Schoolteachers}} SexyPriest, SinisterMinister and TheVicar. For the next step down, see StudentCouncilPresident. For the next step up, see DeanBitterman.
21
22
23----
24!!Examples:
25
26[[foldercontrol]]
27
28[[folder:Comedy]]
29* Tommy Tiernan has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3UL_uCNWCo a bit on this.]]
30-->We used to grow priests in Ireland. We used to grow them from bits of people that we didn't like. But we over-planted. We had an epidemic. We were flooded with them. So, we tried to engage the rest of the world in a priest-for-potato swap. And we were conned by the Africans. Bastards! Took all our priests, not a potato between them. Pagan spudless fuckers! Our priests went over to Africa, and what happened? What do you think happened? They melted! And now we've run out of priests in Ireland. There's none left. And irony of ironies, what's happening? Missionaries! From Africa!
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Comic Books]]
34* Parodied in the ''Babes and Bullets'' section of ''Comicbook/GarfieldHis9Lives'', in which Sam Spayed is hired by the widow of a priest called Father O'Tabby, whose superior is Father O'Felix. The parody comes in when he asks how a priest could be married, and is told they're Greek Orthodox. This is not elaborated upon.
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder:Fan Works]]
38* Monsignor Ryan from ''Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat'' is a priest of Irish descent, though he and his family have been in America long enough that he doesn't have many stereotypes attached to him.
39* Tapper Smurf, the [[{{Oireland}} Oirish]] [[TheBartender bartender]] in ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', becomes one in the latter years of his life, calling himself Pastor Nevin (a variant of his birth name Naomhán), during the framing story of "A Wedding To Remember". He isn't Catholic, though he does have some of its trappings like wearing a long black robe.
40* Subverted in ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged''. Father O'Mally'O'Connel'O'Carrol'O'Reilly'O'Brian'O'Sullivan [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin (who is also Italian)]] is Italian.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
44* Father Brennan in ''Film/TheOmen1976''.
45* Father Barry in ''Film/OnTheWaterfront''.
46* In ''Film/TradingPlaces'', Coleman dresses as one.
47* In ''Film/TheDeltaForce'', a heartwarming moment as Father O'Malley says that he should be grouped with the Jewish hostages, because he considers himself both a Jew and a Christian.
48* Father Everett in ''Film/Daredevil2003''.
49* Father Geoghagan in ''Film/TheWildGeese''.
50* Father Delaney from the original ''Film/TheAmityvilleHorror1979''.
51* Father Alex in ''Film/MammaMia''.
52* Father Janovich in ''Film/GranTorino''. Despite the name, he's given an Irish lilt.
53* A [[OneSceneWonder very memorable one]] is played by Creator/LiamNeeson in ''Film/GangsOfNewYork''.
54** Though he wasn't an actual clergyman (just a very devout mobster), as Bill is quick to point out.
55* In ''Film/MillionDollarBaby'', the character played by Creator/ClintEastwood keeps pestering an Irish priest with intentionally silly questions about Catholic doctrine, even causing him to [[PrecisionFStrike drop an F-bomb]].
56* Father Fitzgibbon in ''Film/GoingMyWay'' played by Barry Fitzgerald defines this trope. He came over from the old country as a young man and yearns to visit Ireland again.
57* Father Peter Lonergan and Father Paul in ''Film/TheQuietMan''. Of course, an Irish priest in 1920's Ireland doesn't exactly stick out.
58* Lots of them show up in ''Film/{{Spotlight}}'', it being set in Boston.
59* Fr. Devlin (played by Dennis O'Dea) in ''Film/TheStoryOfEstherCostello'' convinces prosperous Margaret Landi to take Esther from her village to a deaf-blind school. She's shown typing a letter to him. At the very end, Margaret sends for him to become Esther's guardian since she's about to kill her husband and herself.
60* The 1947 film ''Film/CaptainBoycott'' depicts the OriginStory for [[BrandNameTakeover the familiar term]]. Creator/AlastairSim plays Father [=McKeogh=] who supports the tenant farmers in the non-violent ostracism of Boycott, their evil English land agent. At the end he tells the victorious farmers that "in the future, if any man offends against the community you can ostracize him -- you can isolate him -- you can '''[[TitleDrop boycott him]]'''."
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Literature]]
64* Mike Bennett's grandfather (he become a priest after he was widowed) Seamus in the Creator/JamesPatterson novel ''Step on a Crack''.
65* Father Wolfe in ''Literature/ATaleEtchedInBloodAndHardBlackPencil''.
66* Father Luis Quinn in Creator/IanMcDonald's ''Brasyl''.
67* Baby Kochamma falls in love with one in ''Literature/TheGodOfSmallThings''.
68* Father Ralph of ''Literature/TheThornBirds''
69* Father Callahan of ''Literature/SalemsLot'' and ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''.
70* Father Duddleswell in the original stories which inspired ''Series/BlessMeFather''
71* Military thriller ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' has Father Murphy, who memorably ministers to protagonist John Rumford and some new converts in the field during the battle for Boston.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
75* Caitlin O'Shaughnessy, in ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', one [[BadHabits pretended to be an Irish nun]].
76* Harry O'Rourke, Vatican investigator in the ''Series/{{JAG}}'' episodes "Miracles" and "Salvation".
77* Nick impersonates one in an episode of ''Series/ForeverKnight''. He gets to hear Schanke's confession.
78* Father Liam Riley from the Paris episodes of ''Highlander: The Raven''.
79* Father Mulcahy of ''Series/{{Mash}}'' is of Irish heritage.
80* [[PunnyName Patrick Fitzpatrick]] of ''Series/VeronicaMars''. Also most likely a [[CorruptChurch Corrupt Priest]] and a member of Irish Mafia.
81* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' featured a prominent Belfast priest who was one of the top leaders of the Real IRA.
82* ''Series/{{Ballykissangel}}'' {{lampshades}} this since it's (initially) about an English priest assigned to a parish in Ireland.
83** Had a crossover episode with ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley''. Geraldine expects the priest visiting Dibley to be a stuffy old man, but is pleasantly surprised to see he's young, attractive, and down to earth. Similar to Geraldine who doesn't fit the description of a typical [[TheVicar Vicar]].
84* One appeared in the PedophilePriest episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU''
85* One episode of ''Series/{{Sharpe}}'' has an Irish priest in Spain, who turns out to be something of a badass.
86* ''Series/FatherTed'' is about three Priests (a drunkard, an idiot, and the title character) on an Irish island. This trope is invoked not so much OnceAnEpisode as Once A ''Minute''.
87** In one episode, a nun gushes to a black priest about what wonderful work he must be doing among those poor Africans, and ask how the missions there are doing. The priest replies in a thick Irish accent: "Sure, I wouldn't know, I'm from Donegal."
88* Though he's not a priest, Nate Ford from ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' is Boston Irish and attended a seminary in his teenage years intending to become a priest. Him portraying clergy is a common occurance to the team's cons. We also meet one of his friends who is an Irish Priest.
89* On ''Series/ICarly'', Sam Puckett is obsessed with meeting Father [=McGurthy=], the world's fattest priest, combining both this trope and the show's perchance for PunnyNames.
90* Father Duddleswell in the TV sitcom ''Series/BlessMeFather'', based on original short stories (see Literature).
91* In ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', the Seattle radio station's religious presenter is Father Mike, who in accent and demanour is affably Irish-American. Except for his surname being a Spanish one (Mendosa). This infers that ''all'' priests ''become'' Irish, regardless of ethnic origin.
92* One appears on ''Series/GoodEats'', along with [[IrishmanAndAJew a rabbi]] and a nutritional anthropologist. Alton asks the priest about corned beef in Ireland, and the priest replies that he doesn't eat it. The rabbi doesn't provide much insight into the origin of the dish, either. The nutritional anthropologist explains that a traditional dish in Ireland is ''[[EverythingsBetterWithBacon bacon]]'' and cabbage.[[note]]What the original Irish immigrants thought of as "bacon" was ''[[UsefulNotes/SeparatedByACommonLanguage very different]]'' from what North Americans call "bacon". North American "bacon" is cut from the pork belly. In the UK and Ireland, "bacon" was and still is a cut made mainly of pork loin, often with a small piece of belly meat attached.[[/note]] When Irish immigrants came to the US, what they called "bacon" was out of the financial reach of many of them.[[note]]A more complete explanation of ''why'' it was out of their reach can be found in the "Particular dishes" folder of ''[[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff/{{Food}} Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Food]]''.[[/note]] Meanwhile, American bacon, while relatively cheap, would just disintegrate if boiled with cabbage, so it was useless for the traditional dish. But the Irish ''did'' have lots of new Jewish neighbors, who couldn't eat bacon of any kind[[note]]Beef bacon and turkey bacon being ''much'' later inventions[[/note]] because of Kosher laws forbidding pork and pork products. They had lots of brisket, though, and showed their new Irish neighbors a way of preserving it that results in a meat product ''kind of, sort of'' like bacon--corned beef.[[note]]Note that some form of corned beef was known in Ireland for centuries, the island being excellent cattle country (hence its world-renowned dairy industry today). Salt beef is known in Irish texts dating back to at least the 12th century, and some kind of salted beef product has been made in Ireland pretty much continuously ever since. But by the 19th century, Irish corned beef was mostly produced for export--whether as "bully beef" in tins for the shops in England and the ration packs of the British Army, or more traditional salt beef for the Royal Navy. The Irish generally couldn't afford it and so didn't eat it.[[/note]] As a result, it became the replacement for bacon in the traditional dish in the US. (In fact, it's so popular that if St. Patrick's Day happens to fall on a Friday during Lent, when meat is forbidden to Catholics, the Catholic Church actually ''grants an exception to that rule'' for corned beef and cabbage!)
93* The Priest in S2 of ''Series/{{Fleabag}}'' is a Catholic priest played by Irish actor Andrew Scott, using his own accent.
94* Father Peter from the south in ''Series/DerryGirls''.
95* A variant in the ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' episode ''Megan's First Kiss'' occurs when the titular duo dress up as ''rabbis'' to spy on Megan at the premiere. Josh tells Drake it doesn't matter what accent he uses AsLongAsItSoundsForeign, so they speak to Helen in Irish accents.
96* Father O'Leary, Dot's parish priest in ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries''. Not only is his name Irish, he speaks with a pronounced Irish accent, so it's likely he came from Ireland to Melbourne to be a priest. He also punches out an astronomer for promoting an atheistic theory of cosmology bearing some resemblance to the Big Bang.
97* ''Series/CityOnAHill'': Father Doyle is originally from Northern Ireland though he moved to Boston for an escape from UsefulNotes/TheTroubles (it's [[TheNineties set in 1992]]), with a strong Irish accent.
98* On ''Series/MagnumPI'', one of Higgins' half-brothers is an actual Irish one (played by Creator/JohnHillerman in a dual role in two episodes).
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Video Games]]
102* Father Daniel Wales from ''VideoGame/{{BioShock 2}}'' has traits of this, despite his last name and him [[{{Subverted}} not even being Christian himself]]. [[note]]He actually is preacher of a ''Cult'' that [[BigBad Sofia Lamb]] created for experiments[[/note]].
103* VideoGame/GabrielKnight poses as one to get information out of an older woman in his first game.
104* ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'': Father James O'Flaherty. A survivor of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland) The Great Famine]], he studied at an English university and then entered the Vatican and embarked upon a long career as a Bishop. His haughty, quarrelsome, and arrogant personality puts him at odds with both Koudelka and Edward.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Web Original]]
108* A Rubber Chicken Films sketch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhD46oe8uws]] features a classic Irish priest.
109[[/folder]]
110
111[[folder:Web Comics]]
112* One ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' plot-arc features Brother Ulm, a monk in the Corbettites, a monastic order devoted to operating a politically neutral free-to-all rail liner service throughout Europa. He serves as the conductor aboard the [[CoolTrain Wyrm of Limerick]], and eventually [[spoiler: has his consciousness transferred and becomes the controlling intellect on a new super-train.]]
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Western Animation]]
116* It seems that at least half of Springfield's Catholic clergy in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is Irish. And one of them is actually voiced by Creator/LiamNeeson.
117* Played with in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Trial", where the Joker dresses up as a priest and assumes a thick Irish accent to take Batman's "confession" before the villains (attempt to) kill him.
118[[/folder]]

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