Hello and farewell ... Derry Girls heads into its final season

THERE WAS excitement tinged with a touch of sadness as the stars of Derry Girls walked the red carpet in the city that inspired the drama for the final time.

The Omniplex in the heart of the city was transformed as Saoirse-Monica Jackson, JamieLee O’Donnell and writer Lisa McGee attended the premiere of the third and last season of the coming-of-age drama.

It was an emotional final farewell to the roles of Erin, Claire, Michelle, Orla and “the wee English fella” who exploded on to our screens in 2018 and went on to become a worldwide hit.

The stars have even been immortalised in a mural on a gable wall in Derry. However, a reprisal of the story, potentially in a movie, has not been ruled out.

McGee mused: “Who knows what could happen in the Derry

universe?”

She said: “It’s been six years of my life and I’ve loved it. It’s been very good to me but we are very tired and need a holiday.

“This has been like saying goodbye but it’s not often you get to do exactly what you wanted to do.”

Looking back at the impact the show had, McGee described her pinch-me moment as when Derry Girls was mentioned in The Simpsons.

She said: “I was a big Simpsons fan in the 90s so it blew my mind. I can’t believe that happened. That and the mural in Derry were my two moments.”

The story follows a group of teenagers in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, around the time of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires.

While the Troubles were an inescapable backdrop, the micro-dramas of teenagers navigating their parents, parties, love interests and school captured audiences far beyond Irish shores.