Derry Girls is comedy gold, but its last episode was no grand finale

Derry Girls final episode

Derry Girls finale review: Alas, the last episode overdoes it with a one hour special

By Ed Power

Derry Girls is such a beloved series Channel 4 has given it not one finale but two. Technically, Lisa McGee’s Northern Ireland comedy took its bows on Tuesday night – and on a bleak note with the sudden death of the father of Nicola Coughlan’s Clare.

But scarcely have audiences had a chance to dab away tears than it’s back for an even grander grand farewell in the form of a one-off, feature-length special (Channel 4, 9pm).

The idea is to apply a big shiny, full stop to a show that has become an unlikely juggernaut – who’d have imagined international viewers would go gaga for an ensemble chortlefest set in the final years of the Troubles?

But while Derry Girls makes an appropriate fuss of its leave-taking this is accompanied by bucketfuls of saccharine – plus a truly bizarre cameo (see below). And so, when people fondly reminisce about Derry Girls years from now, it is probable they won’t be thinking back to tonight’s sappy sign-off.

It’s 1998 and Ireland is about to vote on the Good Friday Agreement (yes, the one Brexit is doing its best to unravel). Yet for Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and friends the big occasion on the horizon is an upcoming birthday party.

Two parties in fact: to save money, Erin and cousin Orla (Louisa Harland) are throwing a joint 18th-birthday shindig. Sadly, they have clashing ideas as to what makes a killer bash. Erin wants to celebrate great female authors. Orla is keen on a monkey-themed soiree.

Uncertainty likewise stretches ahead of Sister Michael (Siobhán McSweeney), who is informed she is to be moved on from Our Lady Immaculate College. Her work is done, new challenges await, she is told.

Closer to home, chaos engulfs Erin’s parents (Tara Lynne-O’Neill and Tommy Tiernan) with the return of Cousin Eamon (Ardal O’Hanlon), a Father Dougal type whose speciality is spreading good-natured havoc.

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Families call for candle-lit tribute to Bloody Sunday dead

Derry’s Bloody Sunday families have called for candles to be lit to mark next Saturday’s 49th anniversary of the 1972 killings.

A series of online events have been organised to mark the anniversary, including a virtual commemorative march which will take place Sunday, January 31.

Thirteen anti-internment protesters were shot dead by British paratroopers in Derry’s Bogside on January 30 1972, with a fourteenth victim, John Johnston dying from his wounds later.

An inquiry headed by Lord Mark Saville exonerated all those killed and wounded and condemned the actions of the British soldiers.

One former paratrooper – known as Soldier F – is expected to be charged with the Bloody Sunday murders of victims, Jim Wray and William McKinney. He is also expected to be charged with the attempted murder of wounding victims, Patrick O’Donnell (deceased), Joe Mahon, Joseph Friel and Michael Quinn.

The families of the dead and wounded have called on people to place a lit candle in their windows at 4.10pm next Saturday, the anniversary of the moment the Parachute Regiment entered the Bogside and started shooting.

Two separate commemorative programmes have been organised, one by the majority of families who opted not to continue the annual Bloody Sunday march and one by smaller group which has continued the march since 2011.

The Bloody Sunday Trust programme, which is supported by the majority of families, starts on Monday and culminates with the annual Bloody Sunday Mass (St Mary’s church, Creggan 7.30pm) and a minute’s silence at 4.10pm on Saturday.

The parallel programme will also feature a series of online discussions throughout the week, culminating in an online march on Sunday, January 31.

Source: Families call for candle-lit tribute to Bloody Sunday dead

Brilliant podcast sees real Derry Girls reviewing show while reflecting on own memories

Talking Derry Girls, a popular podcast in which three women review episodes of the hit show while reflecting on their own memories growing up in Derry in the same era, quickly garnered an army of fans– and now it’s back for season 2.

Jeanie, Marie-Louise and Pauline reviewed every episode of the first season of Channel 4’s hit sitcom, and now the trio are back with their review of the first episode of season 2– aka the fan-favourite ‘Blackboard scene’ episode.

Season 3 of Derry Girls is still a long way off, with production plans ruined thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but with an official Derry Girls book coming out, and creator Lisa McGee dropping hints about a film, there’s plenty to keep fans of the show going.

In the meantime, you can check out the Talking Derry Girls podcast on SpotifyApple and Acast.

Source: Brilliant podcast sees real Derry Girls reviewing show while reflecting on own memories | The Irish Post

Obituary: John Hume

As SDLP leader, John Hume played a major role in bringing about Northern Ireland’s peace process.

When the IRA called a ceasefire in August 1994, it was greeted with jubilation and relief across Northern Ireland.

Despite enormous criticism, Hume always defended his decision to talk to Sinn Féin in order to build that peace process.

While many people were involved, the SDLP leader’s role was crucial.

“Politics,” he once said, “is the alternative to war.”

John Hume’s involvement in the cauldron of Northern Ireland politics began on the streets of his home city, Londonderry, where he was born in 1937.

Post-war education reforms enabled him to win a scholarship to the local grammar school and he trained briefly for the priesthood, before returning to work as a teacher.

John Hume in DerryJohn Hume on the streets during the earliest confrontations in Derry

 

Drawn into public life, Hume began to campaign on issues such as housing and helped set up a credit union in his native city. But more traumatic times lay ahead. Continue reading

Derry Girls star salutes kindness in her time of need

Derry Girls’ Siobhán McSweeney took time on Friday’s Late Late Show to pay tribute to how her co-stars looked after her following the death of her father, describing them as “just gorgeous”.

Derry Girls‘ Siobhán McSweeney took time on Friday’s Late Late Show to pay tribute to how her co-stars looked after her following the death of her father, describing them as “just gorgeous”.

The Cork actress, who plays Sister Michael on the hit Channel 4 show, told host Ryan Tubridy how the cast and crew of the series threw their arms around her during her father’s illness and when he passed away.

“Awful things happen,” she said. “And I’ve had a litany – as everybody does – in the last while, just a run of things.

“But a really beautiful upside of all these dreadful things is that people are so kind to you.”

“Dad died during the filming of the second series and I’m sure you know, but Derry and Cork couldn’t be further apart,” McSweeney continued. “It’s a long old drive and there are no flights.

“Dad was in the hospice in Cork and I was filming in Derry and Belfast and trying to get between the two. Despite the best, the best, wonderful intentions of the production company, there was a lot of practical stuff you couldn’t really [plan for].”

“After Dad died it was my first time going back to Belfast,” she recounted. “I was going back into the apartment. I was broken-hearted, I was scalded, I was not good at all. You know, you have your little wheelie suitcase and I thought, ‘I don’t even have a bottle of milk for a cup of tea’. You know when you just want a cup of tea and [to] go to bed? I was like, ‘I can’t face it. I can’t face it’. And I just thought, ‘Oh, sure I don’t even have the heating on or anything’.

“They’re extraordinary people”

She needn’t have worried.

“I walked in and the flat… It was like a Disney film. The heating was on; there were those cosy socks, slippers. Basically, the girls – and by the girls I also include Dylan [Llewellyn] who plays James – they’re the girls – got the key to my flat and filled the flat, filled the fridge with wine, tea, milk, microwave meals, fruit, veg. Loads of wine, thank God! They know me well! Loads of teabags; they had the heating on.”

“They’re extraordinary people,” she said. “But it’s indicative of the whole production, really. People worked so hard to make sure I had a lot of time with Dad. They did it gently, not looking for thanks.

“There’s still stuff I don’t know that it’s only seeping through, but I’m very grateful for them. I wish I had something funny or quippy to say about it, but it’s true: they’re just gorgeous.”

“Thankfully, I was at a dreadful play, so I’m not dead! So bad theatre saves lives!”

McSweeney is currently staying with friends after an electrical fire in her flat in London, which was caused by a double adapter.

“I had one by my bedside, bedside locker,” she explained. “Apparently, they’re dreadful. And if they fall out by more than 1.2mm, which is nothing, it creates an electrical arc, which can spark. And it did. It started smouldering. My bed was next to my bedside locker, obviously, and it started smouldering on my mattress, which released toxic fumes. Thankfully, I was at a dreadful play, so I’m not dead! So bad theatre saves lives!”

McSweeney said there was “an awful lot of damage”.

“I’m still out of the flat. I’m relying on my friends. The flat was destroyed. Because not only was it the fumes from the fire itself, it’s [also] the smoke damage. Everything was ruined, unfortunately.”

She now intends to work with a charity to raise awareness of fire safety.

Source: Derry Girls star salutes kindness in her time of need