Paper's pontiff gaffe

The Washington Post has tipped Father Dougal McGuire as a runner in the race to be the next Pope.

In a report on bookmakers’ odds on who will be the next Pontiff, the paper last week said that punters can back Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy at odds of 11 to 4… “or they can take their chances on Father Dougal Maguire of Craggy Island, Ireland, a long shot at 1,000 to 1."

But the reporter seems unaware that they have been spoofed with the name of Ardal O’Hanlon’s dozy sidekick character from Father Ted.

Although Channel 4 describes him as "one of God's 'special' creatures," it’s probably not enough to make the canny punter take a risk on the fictional outsider.

Click here for the Washington Post article.

Published: 1 Apr 2005