About London Irish
London Irish is a six-part Channel 4 comedy which follows the antics of four ex-pat Northern Irish twenty-somethings living in London, written by someone who knows a thing or two about the craic "in the world's best city" - Derry/Londonderry girl Lisa McGee (pictured).
Lisa says: "For these four friends it's not easy navigating their way through London life. They don't really feel like they fit in at home anymore, but at the same time they still feel like outsiders in London.
"They have created their own little dysfunctional family-unit and their sense of what's normal and acceptable doesn't really match up with the world around them... which often leads to, shall we say, a fair bit of trouble."
The main characters are unpredictable Conor, cynical Bronagh, dizzy Niamh and parental figure Packy; played by Kerr Logan, Sinead Keenan, Kat Reagan and Peter Campion.
Lisa explains: "Each character is a combination of people I know. No one character is really based on anybody. They're all a mixture, different elements of different friends and there's probably a tiny bit of me in each of them. Or at least a tiny bit of me that understands each of them.
"Is the show autobiographical? Well I'm Northern Irish and I moved to London in my twenties. I also have a very tight group of Northern Irish friends who live close by me and we too operate like a sort of dysfunctional family. Lots of elements of the show have been inspired by real life experiences and conversations - although it's hugely exaggerated!
"Ultimately, it's a show about young people, who value having the craic above everything else. The characters are children of the peace process, living in one of the greatest cities in the world and they want to have a good time. They inhabit their own bubbled world and, yeah, they're screwed up, they drink too much, they swear too much... but I really hope people watch the show and think, 'I don't half want a night out with that lot' and love watching these four characters as much as I love writing for them."
Lisa is pleased with how the series has turned out: "Watching it now, any scene when it's the four leads passionately discussing something insignificant - I think that's a very Irish thing - it reminds me of my friends so I'm happy."
See also: Cast interviews