The Best Derry Girls Quotes - Cats & Coffee

Derry Girls Quotes & Moments

For a series with three short seasons, Derry Girls is one of my favorite shows out there. The writing and references are beyond anything else I’ve seen, and the actors play their roles to perfection. Set in the late ’90s in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Derry Girls was inspired by creator Lisa McGee’s experiences growing up during the final years of the Troubles. The show follows the five “Derry Girls” — four girls from Derry and “the wee English fella” James, who is grouped in with the girls — as they attend secondary school at a girls’ Catholic academy.

Image Credit: Netflix via the Hollywood Reporter

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**What Makes Derry Girls Special**

It is hard to pinpoint just why Derry Girls is so special, but I think it has to do with how realistic the characters’ teenage antics and anxieties are. It isn’t overly-romanticized, the characters have flaws, and it is easy to see bits of one’s self in each of the characters’ actions throughout the series. This is especially true when one considers their antics set against the backdrop of religious and political unrest, which is part of the show but is just that…the backdrop, something that the characters have grown up with and that feels normal (I found a great pin on this here).

Plus, they portray Catholic school in a hilariously accurate way that makes me feel like the show is one big inside joke for those of us who spent 12 years in such schools.

Anyway, if you haven’t watched the show, I hope I’ve piqued your interest so far. You can watch all three seasons of the series on Netflix here. If you’re already a Derry Girl fan, here are a handful of great lines and quotes from the series. It was hard to pick just a few, since the show is so quotable, but these are, in my opinion, some of the top moments:

Top Derry Girls Quotes

“If anyone is feeling anxious, worried or maybe you just want a chat, please, please do not come crying to me.” – Sister Michael

Erin: Look, I wanted to be an individual but my ma wouldn’t let me.
Clare: Well I am not being individual on me own.

Clare: You’ve dragged me down to your level, your stupidity has finally rubbed off on me. I was a scholar when I met you, Erin. A scholar!
Erin: You were three!

“Of course God doesn’t hate you. You’re not interesting enough. I’d say he’d be ambivalent towards you at best. If he even exists.” – Sister Michael

Image Credit: Netflix via BuzzFeed

Clare: When I woke up this morning I had a feeling something terrible was going to happen and also that essentially, deep down, I’m quite an evil person.
Michelle: It’s called a hangover, Clare. You’ll be grand.

“Being a Derry Girl is a state of mind.” – Michelle

Michelle: What are you talking about? You love it here.
James: I’m not sure I do. I think I just developed Stockholm Syndrome.
Michelle: Catch yourself on. You’ve never even been to Switzerland.

“Every year I sit backstage listening to the singers, and it really makes me realize how talented the professionals who originally recorded these tracks were.” – Sister Michael

Orla: Aye, you shouldn’t swear, Michelle, because when you swear, our Lady in heaven, she cries her tears then make rain. Isn’t that right, Sister Michael?
Sister Michael: What age are you now, Orla?
Orla: 15.
Sister Michael: Yeah…. You might want to think about wising up.

Image Credit: Netflix via BuzzFeed

“This isn’t Windolene…. This is…this is mayonnaise.” – James

Erin: How bad do you think it is? Do you think it’s like grounded bad, or….
Michelle: Run away from home bad?
Erin: Exactly.
Orla: And if it is run away from home bad, I’m afraid I will need my snorkel back, James.

“Catch yourself on!” – Irish phrase used by various characters throughout the series

Erin: You better not have brought my diary to school!
Orla: I had to. I’m doing my book report on it.

“Have you lost your actual mind?” – Sister Michael

Clare: It all just made me a bit nervous.
Erin: Everything makes you nervous, Clare. You’re a walking cack attack.
Clare: I can’t help that, it’s the way God made me!

Image Credit: Netflix via BuzzFeed

Erin: You didn’t fight that wain, did you, Clare?
Clare: I did fight that wain, Erin, and I’ll fight that wain again if I have to.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, if anyone’s gonna sort that lot out it’ll be a woman.” – Mary

Clare: You said we failed!
Sister Michael: I didn’t say you failed. I implied you failed.
Erin: Why?
Sister Michael: Bit of a slow day.