Ted comes up with the idea to get a lend of the Rover from Finnegan, and then organise the raffle so that he and Dougal would win it, and be able to return the car afterwards.
Back at the parochial house, Mrs. Doyle reveals that Father Finnegan has died from a heart attack, most likely brought on by excessive continuous dancing.
At one point, the writers intended every episode title to contain the name "Father Ted", in reference to the Mr. Moto series, but they ran out of ideas for this format.
[1] In the commentary, Linehan notes that this episode was where they began to expand Father Jack's vocabulary, with the "I'm a happy camper" scene.
They considered writing an episode where Jack's eloquent, articulate brother visits, also played by Frank Kelly, most likely titled "Double Trouble", but decided the concept would be too clichéd.
[1] At the time of writing this episode, Mathews was "obsessed" with the poor special effects of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds.
The non sequitur scene where the priests are attacked by birds was originally an attempt to recreate the film's backwards tracking shot, with people running and waving their hands, which Mathews found unintentionally hilarious.
Ben Keaton also auditioned for the part, but the writers were so impressed by his performance that they gave him the larger role of Father Purcell.
[1] Linehan notes that some people think "Ghost Town" by The Specials is an inherently funny song because of its use in the episode, while the joke was originally that it is simply "not a floor filler".
[1] In 2014, Ben Keaton returned to the role of Father Purcell, performing a stand-up routine and hosting pub quizzes entirely in character.
Keaton also set up a Twitter page for the character, and a website where fans can purchase customised Father Purcell video greetings.