Father Ted Crilly is among many of the quirky and odd characters on Craggy Island, who constantly feels burdened by the idiocy and insanity of those around him. He was sent to the failing parish as penance for a misdemeanour known only as 'that Lourdes thing', whereby he allegedly stole charitable donations intended to fund a poor child's pilgrimage (he always claimed that the money was just resting in his account). Despite being one of the series' few sympathetic characters, Ted was a greedy and faintly vainglorious man; he dreamed of abandoning his fellow clergy and ministering a parish far away in Las Vegas. However, he found his ambitions constantly quashed by the demands of his much feared, narcissistic superior, Bishop Len Brennan, and the two priests he was charged with caring for: the violent alcoholic Jack Hackett and the profoundly unintelligent Dougal McGuire, as well as their manic housekeeper Mrs. Doyle.
Ted has a long-standing rivalry with Father Dick Byrne, parish priest of Rugged Island, and could frequently be seen displaying his childish side through the various petty tricks he played on him.
Ted's only known family is a brother who is a physician; he is mentioned briefly in "Entertaining Father Stone".
Ted dreads visits from Bishop Brennan, as the latter despises him and usually punishes him.
