Whatever the reasons, the Aran islands' Inis Mor . . . standing in for the fictional Craggy Island with its one hotel, three pubs and handful of B&Bs . . . is in the grip of an invasion of Father Ted fans this weekend.

Nine years after the sudden death of Dermot Morgan, who brought the comical cleric to life in the Channel 4 sitcom, the first TedFest was getting underway off the west coast.

Organisers initially expected events such as the 'Father Jack cocktail evening' or the 'cleaning fluid drinks reception' to attract 100 revellers, the maximum number that could be accommodated on the rocky outcrop. But within days it was sold out. By lunchtime on Friday about 2,000 fans, many of them sporting cassocks, had taken the ferry or plane from the mainland and were pitching tents in the teeth of an Atlantic gale, all under the watchful gaze of the massed ranks of the international media.

"The local people are totally bewildered but totally up for it, " said the organiser Peter Phillips, a history writer from Wales who is also responsible for the Porthcawl Elvis Festival. "The reason we chose Inis Mor is because it is such a pilgrimage to get here. But every time I look up there is a plane landing with more people on board."

News that the three-day festival would be held on Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran islands, prompted a dispute between locals who claimed they were the real Craggy islanders.

People on Inis Oirr insisted they should host the event because the Plassey shipwreck, which features in the opening sequence of the show, is a landmark of their coastline. The 26 episodes of Father Ted were filmed at locations across Ireland, with indoor scenes shot in London.

Regardless of that, Phillips decided to settle the matter by staging a five-a-side football match between the two islands, inspired by the celebrated "all-priests over-75 indoor challenge" featured in the series.

The match has now taken on a life of its own and the sides will be managed by the Irish football legends John Aldridge and Tony Cascarino.

The festival sponsor, Paddy Power, has opened a book on the game and said it was taking more bets on the football in this part of the world than on yesterday's Six Nations match between Ireland and England in Croke Park. The winning side will be awarded the title of "the real Craggy Island" for the next 12 months.

Money raised from the weekend's events will go towards Croi, the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation, and organisers plan to make TedFest an annual event.

They hope the 'Toilet Duck award for new comedy' could become Ireland's answer to the Perrier prize and want to turn next year's festival into a serious arts programme with scriptwriting and comedy workshops.

According to Phillips, the response has confirmed the enduring cultural impact of the series.

"It was brilliantly written, the casting was superb with fantastic unknown actors who just immediately gelled, but the timing was crucial, " he said.

"When serious historians start writing about this period, Father Tedwill have its own chapter. It gave the Irish people permission to laugh at themselves and the established and repressive Catholic church, at a time when they were entering a new era as a Celtic Tiger economy."

But there were negatives, of course.

Father Ted brought a young Graham Norton to the attention of the wider world, said Phillips, who is clearly not a fan of the comedian.

"Every upside has a downside.

There always has to be a payback."