Derry Girls has put my home city on the map – Bronagh Gallagher

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

One of the stars of the Netflix show How To Get To Heaven From Belfast has praised the writing of Lisa McGee for reigniting interest in their home city of Derry.

Bronagh Gallagher said the screenwriter’s breakout hit comedy series Derry Girls had “put the city on the map”.

The sitcom told the story of five teenagers living through the mid-1990s and frequently referenced events from the Troubles.

The Commitments star Gallagher, 53, said Derry Girls has been “enormous” for Derry as she spoke to Ralph McLean on the Postcards From Northern Ireland podcast.

She said: “Lisa McGee is such an extraordinary writer and extraordinary person.

“Her capability as a writer to bring a language into a city, to tell a very troubled, heartbreaking past, through the eyes of young people, ignited an interest in the city.

“There are now multiple Derry Girls tours, afternoon teas, prosecco nights – whatever you fancy.

“So many of the hotels and the cafes have the memorabilia around the place.

“We have the mural – there’s always people at it.”

She added: “I don’t think people realise what it was like for us, the before and the after.

“Now we are on the map, big time.”

Gallagher, who has also acted in Pulp Fiction and Star Wars Episode I, played herself in the final episode of Derry Girls.

The actress, who stars as Booker in How To Get To Heaven From Belfast, also written by McGee, told the podcast she had discovered the “beauty” of the north Antrim coast during filming.

She said: “We had a huge stunt sequence which took place at Murlough Bay. I had never been to that part of the world, and it was just mind-blowing.

“I was bowled over by the scenery, by where it was. You can see Rathlin Island, you can see Scotland.”

Gallagher also spoke of her love of Belfast, stating it was her “second-favourite city” and recounted family trips in her youth.

She said: “My parents were very much involved in music themselves.

“We were always coming to see whatever was going on in the Grand Opera House.”

“As Louise (her sister) and I got older, it was a different kind of entertainment that we were looking for – the bars, the discos and the music shops.

“I went straight to Good Vibrations, Terri Hooley’s record shop, and I was buying vinyl with my lunch money.

“I went home hungry, but I went home with a Muddy Waters or a Howlin’ Wolf.”

She added: “I love Belfast. I can see how the city has expanded and I think it’s such a brilliant city to come to.”

Episode six of Postcards From Northern Ireland featuring Bronagh Gallagher is out on Discover Northern Ireland’s YouTube and Spotify platforms.