As she received the freedom of the city, Lisa McGee, the creator of Derry Girls, swore to continue writing about “the place I come from, the place I love.”
On Monday, the author was presented with the freedom of Derry City and Strabane at a ceremony.
Ms. McGee is the first woman to receive the highest honor bestowed by the council.
She stated that it is an “honor and a joy” to be recognized in a city “rich in history and full of stories.”
Ms. McGee stated at the Guildhall ceremony in Derry, “I am quite delighted to be from Derry.
Being from Derry has always felt like a superpower to me as a writer working in television, a notoriously difficult industry to break into and thrive in.
“It is a city filled with tales and storytellers. I’ve always believed I was born with an unfair advantage.”
She stated that it had been her “biggest honor” to pen Derry Girls.
She noted that the sitcom has allowed her to “display our astounding sense of humor, our warmth, and our humanity.”
“I will continue to write about my hometown and the surrounding area,” she stated.
Sandra Duffy, the mayor of Derry, stated at the ceremony that Ms. McGee “caught the city and its people, our particular wit, kindness, and tenacity, and shared it with a global audience.”
She remarked, “We are incredibly proud of you, as you have successfully bolstered civic pride and given us all a chance to embrace our Derryness.
Councilman Martin Reilly of the Social Democratic and Labour Party sponsored the prize.
Twitter’s original tweet is viewable here
Mr. Reilly stated earlier on Monday that the ceremony will allow the city to “express how proud we are of Lisa.”
“The work she has done and how she has placed Derry on the global map through her writing is quite astounding,” he remarked.
“The freedom of the city is the highest honor a city council can bestow on an individual, and it’s fantastic that Derry Girls and, more importantly, a Derry girl, are being recognized.”
The 2018 Channel 4 series Derry Girls covers the lives of four teenage girls and “a small English chap” as they grow up in 1990s Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
It follows the group as they navigate the ups and downs of adolescence during the latter years of the Troubles.
Channel 4’s Derry Girls was a tremendous success, garnering Royal Television Society Awards, Irish Film and Television Awards, and BAFTA nominations.
After three seasons, the final episode aired on Wednesday, May 18th.
Other significant works by Ms. McGee include the Irish television series Raw, which she produced for RTÉ, the Channel 4 sitcom London Irish, and the Channel 5 series The Deceived.
