Derry Girls viewers say finale taught them about Good Friday Agreement ‘better’ than UK school system

‘So many people have tried to educate British people on the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and hopefully “Derry Girls” has succeeded,’ one viewer wrote

Derry Girls fans have said that the show’s final episode taught them more about the Good Friday Agreement than they ever learnt at school in the UK.

The beloved Channel 4 sitcom came to an end on Wednesday (18 May) with an extended episode set one year on from the events of episode six on the eve of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendum.

The agreement was signed in Northern Ireland on 10 April 1998. It effectively brought an end to The Troubles, which had raged in the region for 30 years, and established a cross-community consensus for peace and the future direction of the region.

After the episode aired, viewers lamented the show’s end while praising it for covering the political background so thoroughly.

“I learned more about the Good Friday agreement in the five minute closing Derry Girls montage than I learned in the entirety of my education in the UK, and that is literally not an exaggeration in the least,” one tweet read.

“Derry Girls has educated me about the Good Friday Agreement better than my (British) school did,” another viewer wrote.

One Twitter user said: “All these people admitting to learning more about Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement from Derry Girls than anywhere else is kinda sad tbh.”

The 1998 referendum played out in the extended ‘Derry Girls’ finale (Channel 4)

“So many people have tried to educate British people on the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and hopefully Derry Girls has succeeded,” another wrote.

With UK ministers currently in a stand-off with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol post-Brexit, viewers said that Lisa McGee’s comedy was a reminder of the importance of protecting the country.

“Sometimes there are no words that can adequately capture the emotion and significance of something as horrific as Bloody Sunday or important as the Good Friday Agreement,” one viewer wrote. “Liam Neeson does it with no words at all. Floored me. Peace in Northern Ireland MUST be protected.”

Neeson had a cameo in the first episode of Derry Girls series three and returned in the finale.

Another commenter wrote: “Lessons from Derry Girls tonight. Protect Channel 4 from the Tories. Explain the Good Friday Agreement to the Tories.”

Derry Girls is available to watch on All4.