The parish of Craggy island, a remote post off the coast of Ireland, is home to three priests sent there on account of different failings. Father Ted Crilly allegedly misappropriated some funds meant to sent a child to Lourdes that somehow ended up in Las Vegas. Father Jack Hackett is a decrepit, irascible alcoholic whos speech and acts are peppered with copious amounts of profanity and at times even blasphemy. The dim-witted Father Dougal McGuire ended up on the island due to some incident at Blackrock, although the exact circumstances remain a mystery. In their exile the three seldom find solace and redemption, but are often engaged in some exploit or dealing with the consequences thereof.