‘Derry Girls’ star Siobhán McSweeney criticises English education on Northern Ireland

nme.com:

Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney has criticised the lack of education in English schools about Northern Ireland.The Channel 4 sitcom concluded its third and final season on Wednesday (May 18) with a 45-minute special where the characters voted on the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to bring an end to decades of violence.The subject has added relevance following Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol implemented in 2019, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said needs to be “fixed” following political instability.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, McSweeney, who plays Sister Michael, said it was an “absolute disgrace” that many English viewers had said they learned more from watching Derry Girls than in school about the issues in Northern Ireland."It breaks my heart"Actress Siobhan McSweeney, who plays Sister Michael in Derry Girls, says that it was 'incredibly poignant' that the characters are filled with hope for peace at the end of the sitcomFull Interview: https://t.co/OXuxtNOvNV#R4Today pic.twitter.com/Yw9W0HGauM— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) May 19, 2022“I’ve woken up this morning to, no word of a lie, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of messages, and at least three quarters of them are ‘Derry Girls has taught me more about the history of Northern Ireland and Britain than anything that I have been taught in school’,” McSweeney said.“I think if you put aside the absolute disgrace it is that there’s such a gap in the educational system here that they have to look to a comedy to find out about Northern Irish politics that still have an effect today, I think it shows how good the medium of comedy can be to spread a message.”Addressing the show’s relevance in light of the threat to the Good Friday.