Calls to honour Normal People
THE hit series Normal People is as important to Sligo as the Royal visit was in 2014.
This is according to Cllr Michael Clarke, who had a motion set to go before last week’s meeting of Sligo County Council seeking for the council to offer a Civic Reception to those involved in the television programme.
Cllr Clarke’s motion will now be considered at the next monthly meeting, and he believes that the success of the show across the world could have major benefits for Sligo. Streedagh and Tubbercurry were two of the locations featured in the series, which is based on the novel written by Mayo author Sally Rooney.
“It’s the success of the show, an awful lot of international TV stations have purchased it,” Cllr Clarke told The Sligo Champion.
“I understand it’s being put into something like 25 different languages and the online media quotes are ‘where was it filmed?’.
“Beautiful scenery of Streedagh and Sligo and Tubbercurry, and it’s something that we should acknowledge, the film industry. There have been many, many films made in the north west.”
The hosting of a Civic Reception for those involved - including stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, who play the main characters, Marianne and Connell - would attract major attention from around the world to Sligo.
Cllr Clarke said: “This particular TV show is different because it’s going to launch the careers of two leading young actors that will be household names in the near future and it’s different in that respect, the other films had established stars but this is going to put those two actors on the world stage.”
The Independent councillor believes that the proposal has the support of other elected members, and that the screening of the series to millions of people around the world will help boost Sligo’s tourism industry.
“I think they’re [other councillors] very anxious that it will proceed the next day and that it will happen when the Covid measures allow it to happen. Everybody is happy to see us promoting the film industry and promote the north west.
“I think it will be a big help to the tourism industry because you couldn’t buy the publicity that this show has given the north west.
“The town of Tubbercurry looked very well in its Christmas lights and the beach in Streedagh looked fantastic and I think this is as important, in my view, as the Royal visit was a number of years ago to the north west.”