12 Side-By-Sides Showing The “Derry Girls” Cast In The First Episode And The Last Episode
? Warning, this post contains spoilers for Derry Girls season three!! ?
It’s a sad, sad day, folks! Channel 4’s hit comedy, Derry Girls, has come to a magnificent end, and we must bid farewell to the girls and their families for at least the time being.
Remember when Erin wanted to wear a denim jacket instead of a blazer to school, and her mother quashed her attempt at standing out? Well, not much changes! In tonight’s special episode, Erin’s still squabbling with her mum over her birthday party plans.
Our main gal has been through crushes, her first kiss (with James!), and voting for the first time in a seismic referendum. At the end of the special, she hints that she might write some of her experiences down, and I think we’re supposed to believe – in a meta way – Erin’s writing becomes Derry Girls. I’m not crying, you are!!
2. Louisa Harland as Orla McCool
“Sub-normal” Orla has gone from likable goof to, well, an older likable goof! She’s still as confident and kooky as ever, and I can’t wait to see what our chocolate fountain-loving, shellsuit-wearing, step aerobics queen does next.
3. Nicola Coughlan as Clare Devlin
Clare has probably been through the biggest transformation of all the girls, both in terms of her sexuality and the loss of her father. Even though she’s moved to a different school and town, anxious Clare is still a Derry girl through and through!
4. Jamie-Lee O’Donnell as Michelle Mallon
Michelle is a complicated soul! Throughout the series, we’ve been mostly privy to her foul-mouthed, boy-loving side, but she’s also shown that she really loves her friends – even her “prick of a cousin” James!
In tonight’s special, we also learned that Michelle’s brother is a paramilitary prisoner who could be granted early release as part of the Good Friday Agreement. Naturally, Michelle feels conflicted about her brother’s early release due to his involvement in a man’s death, and her disagreement with Erin on the subject is emblematic of how Irish people felt about this particular part of the Agreement. Though she’s a bit of a horndog, it’s clear from tonight’s finale that Michelle is a deep thinker too.
5. Dylan Llewellyn as James Maguire
James arrived in Derry not knowing which side was up! From impersonating Posh Spice to nearly losing his virginity and finally confessing his love to Erin, James has definitely become a Derry girl, as seen in the emotional season two finale episode. Long live the wee English fella!
6. Siobhán McSweeney as Sister George Michael
The stern and often callous headteacher of Our Lady Immaculate College is probably one of the greatest comedy TV characters of the last five years. At the end of Derry Girls, it looks like Sister Michael’s time at Our Lady Immaculate is almost up, but due to her tenacity and a visit of two from one Father Peter (who I think she quite likes deep down), Sister Michael lives to scald another day!
7. Tara Lynne O’Neill as Mary Quinn
Erin’s tough but fair mother gets a new lease on life this season when she decides to go to university and study English. She’s still as devoted to her family as ever, but at least now she has a microwave to help her juggle uni and homemaking!
8. Tommy Tiernan as Gerry Quinn
Erin’s browbeaten father must continue to juggle the constant demands and lowkey abuse from his ~eclectic~ family, which is now even bigger due to cousin Eamonn moving in! Let’s hope he still finds the time to perfect his Australian accent should he need it again.
9. Kathy Kiera Clarke as Sarah McCool
As glamorous as she is inadvertently hilarious, Aunt Sarah is still forgetting she has a daughter nineteen episodes later! At least Episode One Sarah would be glad to know her eyebrows are still in great nick by the end of series three.
10. Ian McElhinney as Joe McCool
Joe is still fiercely protective of the women in his life, and pretty awful to the men in his life AKA Gerry. Across three series he’s tried his hand at dating, tried to track down a president, and taken his granddaughter to a prom, amongst a whole host of other things. Also, shout out to young(er) Joe from Series Three, Episode Five!
11. Leah O’Rourke as Jenny Joyce
I gotta say, my lowkey fave is Jenny. Remember her “Monday morning” song, for Christ’s sake — what a legend! Jenny is an overachieving teacher’s pet to the very end, but you just know she’ll take over the world one day.
12. Kevin McAleer as Colm McCool
From having his van stolen by thieves to facing off with the RUC (in the shape of Liam Neeson), Colm hasn’t changed a bit! At the end of the show, it looks like he might have cousin Eamonn move in with him for a bit of company, but ironically, he finds him too boring to live with.