Derry Girls writer supporting campaign against new Irish border in wake of EU exit

THE writer of Derry Girls has backed a campaign named after her hit TV series that calls on political leaders to avoid borders after Brexit.

The Derry Girls Against Borders campaign is calling on political leaders to ensure that there are no hard borders on the island of Ireland or in the Irish Sea.

Giving her support to the campaign, the author of the hit Channel 4 TV series Derry Girls, Lisa McGee, shared her personal story in a bid to help stop Brexit borders.

Ms McGee said: “In 1995, when I was a teenager and President Clinton made his historic trip to Northern Ireland, I remember him standing in Derry’s Guildhall Square and outside Belfast’s City Hall.

“I remember him saying how wonderful it would be if people didn’t have to worry about

Plea: Lisa McGee

searches or bombs, if people could cross the border without the burden of checkpoints and road blocks.

“Well, we achieved that. And it was difficult, but it was magnificent. That work can never be undone. We must never go back.”

The Derry Girls Against Borders campaign is urging political leaders in London, Dublin, Brussels and Belfast to prevent borders after Brexit.

It said it is giving voice to the anxieties and concerns of people who regularly travel north-south or east-west and who want to maintain the same freedom and flexibility they currently have, once Brexit takes effect.

Thousands have so far signed a petition and the campaign will continue until the European Summit takes place in autumn.

A Belfast event has already been held and the campaign will travel on to Dublin, London and Brussels, with dates to be announced.

Founder Tanya McCamphill said previously that women from all walks of life had come together because they were worried and felt that their way of life was being threatened.

“It is widely recognised that a hard border in Ireland or down the Irish Sea would cause significant social, economic and political challenges, yet still there is no agreed solution,” Ms McCamphill said.