The back bar of The Clarence, Dublin’s most fashionable hotel, is a symphony of muted pastel colours and stark furniture. A fire burns cheerily in the grate, despite the May sunlight streaming through the window. There’s nobody here but me at 1.30 on a Friday lunchtime, which is a little alarming for the management (the place is owned by U2) but may be just a symptom of the new Irish Renaissance, in which no cool Dubliner would be so old-fashioned as to go for lunch in a pub. Among the myriad incarnations of the Renaissance (the Shamrock Economy, Boyzone, Mary Robinson, Riverdance, Angela’s Ashes, Irish theme pubs, Ballykissangel, Neil Jordan, The Leenane Trilogy on Broadway) one of the most striking has been the success of Father Ted, the Bafta-winning sitcom whose run came to an abrupt stop after three series.