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It’s the 1990s. It’s Derry. And it’s the Lady Immaculate College on the first day of term. An announcement comes over the tannoy:
“Will the following pupils please report to Sister Michael’s office immediately: Erin Quinn, Orla McCool. Clare Devlin, Michelle Mallon and the wee English fella.”
The Derry girls are in trouble, and not for the first time.
They have already tried to threaten some new girls on the bus (until they discovered who was the big sister), there’s a bomb on the bridge and they’ve had to sit through an excruciating drama in assembly. And now this…
Derry Girls is wonderful. Just wonderful. I watched it some years ago, and then recently watched the new season on Channel 4. I have just decided to sit back and re-watch from the beginning…
Having said that, there are very few spoilers, if any here. I am sticking to season 1 episode 1 for now…
The characters
There’s Erin. The main protagonist. She keeps a diary (which has been stolen and read by her cousin, Orla).
Then there is Clare. Nervy. Always wants to do the right thing and be on the right side. And that sometimes involves grassing up her friends. As Sister Michael says:
“Well, I think it’s safe to say we all just lost a bit of respect for you there, Clare…”
And Michelle. She is the sassy one. The troublemaker. The leader. The sweary one. Favourite line:
“F*** – a-doodle-doo!”
But the Derry Girls wouldn’t be complete without James. He is Michelle’s English cousin. He is enrolled at the Lady Immaculate College because the family is not sure about his safety at the boys’ school. After all, he is English!
And that causes a few problems when he needs to use the loo!
So that’s the Derry Girls but you still need to meet their parents!
Derry Girls
Derry Girls is beautifully written by Lisa McGee, based on her own experiences in Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’. It is gorgeous, hilarious, charming and deeply poignant. Whilst a work of fiction, it references real-life events including the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
There are three seasons that you can watch on Channel 4 and Netflix.
Enjoy!
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