Inis Mór, the home of Fr Ted, will host the Craggy Island World Cup this weekend in memory of actor Dermot Morgan, who died 10 years ago today.
His sons Don and Rob will be attending with their younger brother Ben, and their father's partner, Fiona, and both Rob and Don have signed up to play in the Craggy World Cup with the Pink Flamingoes on behalf of Heir island in Co Cork. The visiting teams include a side from Sicily.
Rob Morgan will also be in Galway's Eyre Square today to initiate a new foundation established in his father's memory - and to welcome the Father Ted milk float, which has been pushed around the four provinces to raise funds for Down Syndrome Ireland.
The Dermot Morgan Foundation aims to provide bursaries for comedy writers, and will host its first fundraiser to support this in Dublin's Button Club on June 9th.
Meanwhile, the milk float completes its last leg after 40 days in the wilderness - and so many nights camped in Garda stations.
Peter Phillips, British writer and TedFest organiser, has no idea how much money has been raised for charity but has enjoyed "watching a lot of rear ends pushing it up hills in the rain, sitting in the comfort of my sponsored Nissan 4X4."
Companies, sports teams, reserve Garda officers and school pupils have all been involved in the float push, and Down Syndrome Ireland fundraiser Padraic Delaney says that the community spirit is "very much alive and well" with many "random acts of kindness en route".
However, both he and Peter Phillips believe that the effort also emphasises the "scandalous" neglect by the State of proper services for children with special needs.
"Speech therapy should be a right, not something you have to take buckets out to fund," Mr Phillips said yesterday. "It's what taxpayers should expect to contribute to in a vibrant economy."
Details of the full TedFest programme are on www.friendsofted.org and a tribute to his father is on Don Morgan's blog at www.donnchadhmorgan.blogspot.com
