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24th Jun 2022

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee nominated for Freedom of Derry City

Fiona Frawley

One of those things that just makes sense.

Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee is the first woman to be nominated for Freedom of the City in Derry.

SDLP Councillor Martin Reilly will nominate Lisa McGee for Freedom of the City at Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Full Council meeting next week, according to the Derry Journal.

Ahead of the meeting, Councillor Reilly said:

Lisa McGee has brought so much joy and civic pride to our city and district through her writing and this work has undoubtedly put Derry and its people on a global stage.

Right from the first episode of the first series, the adventures of the Channel 4 ‘Derry Girls’ school teenagers and their experiences growing up against the background of the Troubles, as society moved towards the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, captivated audiences and resonated with people from all walks of life who lived through those difficult decades and informed a new generation of what life was like here in the 1990s. 

Netflix has taken this to a global audience and this exposure for our city and district has boosted tourism and inspired those who live here – young and old.

He also referenced the show’s hour-long special finale set during the week of the Good Friday Agreement, describing it as ‘a masterpiece in explaining the difficult choices people had to make as this city, the wider island and its people transitioned from day to day bloody conflict to a more peaceful future’.

Derry Girls was recently referenced in UK Parliament for its “brilliant” portrayal of life during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd8xCsUIa_i/

Lisa McGee shared the news on Twitter, writing:

What an absolute honour to be the first woman nominated . I’m thrilled to even be considered . Fingers crossed. 

Header image via Instagram/lisafromderry

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