Catholic gravy is all Bisto. Protestants love marching.
The superb Season 2 debut of Derry Girls may have insinuated that Protestants love to keep their toasters in the cupboard and that Catholics watch RTÉ, but when it comes to building bridges - metaphorical ones, not real ones like Ma Mary thought - Lisa McGee's comedy hit the nail on the head.
Not to get too serious but it's testament to the cast and crew that they took an issue like the religious divide in Ireland and made it funny.
Protestant. Catholic. It doesn't matter a damn in Lisa McGee's show because
the scene where all the participants in the Friends Across the Barricades scheme listed the similarities and differences between the two religions was a riot.
Ultimately, the cross-community event all culminated in
Clare calling her new Protestant buddy "a jaffa bastard" and a "Fenian-hating mad man" as she dangled from the cliff. Of course, it was all a big mixup that left Clare looking like a bit of a dose.
After getting in deep trouble with their parents, the Catholic and Protestant students did find some common ground though.
When the cameras weren't rolling, the cast of Derry Girls had an absolute blast working alongside the new additions - Jay Duffy, Francis Mezza, Laurie Kynaston, and Brenock O'Connor.
Ahead of the Season 2 opener, JOE caught up with the stars of Derry Girls and Louisa Harland (Orla) was absolutely buzzing to chat about hunting knives, wolves, and burying your own excrement with her new Protestant pal, Brenock O'Connor.
“It was so great filming with those guys for that week - especially for Dylan (James). He was just delighted to have four extra lads on set. It was really fun and they’re all so lovely. Brenock - who is my Protestant - is just incredible and he's such a good actor. He’s from Brighton and his Derry accent is better than mine. He learned the accent when he was working on Game of Thrones. He picked it up by hanging out with Northern Irish taxi drivers for three years! He's incredible".
Elsewhere, the scene which saw Clare dangling on the edge of the cliff genuinely terrified Nicola Coughlan and she was very happy to have her 'wee Protestant' to help her get through it
"Laurie Kynaston- the lad who plays my wee Protestant, as I call him - was so good and kind to me during that scene. Like, he was rubbing my back while I sobbed away from the camera! He's such a terrific actor and a really nice guy," said Coughlan.
On that note, it's clear that Derry Girls continues to be the perfect representation of what it's actually like to be Irish.
https://twitter.com/nicolacoughlan/status/1103036343502938118
