‘Derry Girls’ is ending, but its legacy will live on

It’s the end of an era, folks. Derry Girls is coming to a conclusion and the feeling could not be more bittersweet.

For three uproarious seasons, our beloved Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan) Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and the Wee English Fella James (Dylan Llewellyn) have been steadfast companions to us, making us laugh ’til our ribcages ached.

The third season of the Channel 4 comedy draws to a close with two episodes — a finale, followed by an hour long special set one year later. For those who haven’t yet watched the finale, look away now, for spoilers lie ahead. Episode six of the show sees Aunt Sarah (Kathy Kiera Clarke) getting accidentally engaged to Jamie Beamish’s Ciaran (as one does), as the wee’uns get excited for the arrival of a music artist they claim is “bigger than Jesus”. No, it’s not the Beatles, but DJ Fatboy Slim (or as Mammy calls him Slimboy Fat). Chaos naturally ensues when the girls (plus James) attempt to get tickets to see him, which results in a meet-cute for Clare, a narrowly missed punch-up, followed by the tickets getting ripped up. Michelle is given her 15 minutes of fame on UTV News during which she reels off a sob story that’s entirely made up to presenter Margaret Callaghan (Sinéad Burke) in a bid to get tickets for the gig. The lies and deceit pay off initially, landing the girls with VIP tickets — until they eventually get found out and booted out of the concert on their ear. But that’s when things take a turn for the sombre. A tragedy befalls one member of the friendship group, and the devastation is felt by each of them. That sombre note is where things are left in the finale, with the friends rallying round as one friend mourns. It’s a poignant moment that shows the strength of friendship between the teenage girls.

So many memories…
Credit: Channel 4

That’s not the last we see of our Northern Irish fab five, however. There’s also a final hour-long special, showing events one year after the finale. Set in 1998 during the run up to the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum (the Northern Ireland peace deal that ended most of the violence of the Troubles in 1998), the girls are turning 18, getting ready to cast their votes, and preparing to have blow-out parties for their milestone birthdays. There are SEVERAL cameo appearances which will leave you chin on chest. Prepare to laugh, cry your eyes out, and sing along to an absolutely epic soundtrack which includes the likes of No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”, The Cranberries’ “Linger” and “Dreams”, and Gina G’s “Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit”.

It’s a show that has educated people about what it was really like growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, while also showing audiences that even during the most difficult times, laughter can be a real tonic. For Northern Irish people who lived through this time, Derry Girls has achieved something truly great: telling their stories without packaging it as trauma porn. It has pushed the boundaries of how Irish women are shown on screen, subverting the stereotype which typically sees Northern Irish women portrayed as victims or ancillary characters to male counterparts. As the show’s writer Lisa McGee put it in 2019: “The women in Northern Ireland and Irish women are so funny.” But that humour isn’t shown in TV shows and films. “They’re always victims, always victims of something to do with the political situation or the Catholic Church,” McGee added.

McGee said in a press briefing which I attended in May 2022 that she didn’t start out knowing that the show’s political undertones would prove to be so relevant to present day events. “I always wanted to touch on the Good Friday Agreement, if we were lucky enough to get to the end of the show, just because I’ve always been very impressed by the Good Friday Agreement, I’ve always thought that was something we did really well. By fluke, with Brexit and everything, there has started to be these parallels,” she said.

“I hope it’s taught people a wee bit about where I come from”

For English, Scottish, Welsh, and other international viewers, who didn’t learn about The Troubles at school, the show has been hugely educational. Derry Girls provided an important backdrop of context, when the UK’s exit from the EU in 2020 meant special arrangements needed to be negotiated in order to protect the Good Friday Agreement. This is because Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which shared a land border with an EU country — the Republic of Ireland.

Asked about the show’s legacy, McGee said: “When we started, we just wanted to make people laugh — I hope it’s done that. One of the most rewarding things for me is hearing that when people were having a crap time, they watched Derry Girls, it cheered them up. But I hope it’s taught people a wee bit about where I come from. That’s just been a bonus, ’cause we just used it for jokes, but then people have gone, ‘actually that’s interesting.'”

She hopes it will pave the way for other stories being told about Northern Ireland — “a place that has a lot of stories, but it was the same one over and over again that was always told. There’s other interesting things to be said about that place.”

For me, the show has been very meaningful. Growing up in England with my Northern Irish parents (mum is from Larne, dad is from Lisburn), I would spend the summers across the Irish Sea, being spoiled by my relatives. Watching Derry Girls, you see so many idiosyncrasies that are present in Northern Irish families. Like Uncle Colm (Kevin McAleer), for instance — the relative who tells the most meanderingly dull stories about nothing in particular. I asked McGee if she drew inspiration from her own family while writing the show. “Absolutely,” she said. “There’s members of my family that are very much like the Grandad, the rest of them I take combinations of people and mash them together. I’m also just always ripping off real life things, like my mum will start saying something and then just stop suddenly and someone will say ‘don’t, she’ll use it.'”

While we’re bidding farewell to the show, take heart: It might not be forever. McGee said during the Q&A that she hopes to one day make a Derry Girls movie. So, who knows, we might eventually get to see if Erin and James end up together (McGee reckons they’ll get together in their thirties!).

Derry Girls, you brought us so much joy. You’ll be dearly missed.

Derry Girls Season Three is available to stream on Channel 4. The hour long special will air at 9pm on 18 May. The first season is available to stream on Netflix.