Tommy Tiernan has been named as a cast member for a new Channel 4 comedy series set against the spectre of the Troubles.
The comedian is set to play the father of the lead character in the new six part 30 minute sitcom.
According to the synopsis released by Channel 4, Derry Girls, is set in 90s Derry and follows 16-year-old Erin Quinn (Saoirse Monica Jackson) who lives with her uncompromising mother (Tara Lynne O’Neill), her long-suffering father (Tiernan) and the fearsome ‘Granda Joe’ (Ian McElhinney), a man whose love for his daughters and granddaughters is surpassed only by his contempt for his son-in-law.
Erin is used to seeing her country on the nightly news and speaking in acronyms (The IRA, The UDA, The RUC). This is a time of armed police in armoured Land Rovers and British Army check points. But it’s also the time of Murder She Wrote, The Cranberries, MJ and Lisa Marie, Doc Martens, bomber jackets, The X Files, Nirvana and Wayne’s World. And while The Troubles may hang over her home town, Erin has troubles of her own…
The series is written by Derry's own Lisa McGee who mined her own experiences to create a candid, one-of-a-kind, family-centred comedy. McGee's previous writing credits include Indian Summers, London Irish and Being Human.
"I’m delighted to be able to tell the stories of real people living through The Troubles." she said. "And now, with the delicate political ecosystem of the country about to be tested by The Conservatives and The DUP, it seems well worth reminding ourselves how things were not so long ago, and what better way to do that than through comedy?”
