The world was first introduced to Saoirse-Monica Jackson as the awkward and expressive schoolgirl Erin Quinn in Derry Girls, navigating Troubles-era Northern Ireland and its conflict with the same fervor as her crushes, convent school, and cringe-inducing teenage chaos. The Irish coming-of-ager, created by Lisa McGee, became a cultural phenomenon that transcended time and place. Now, four years after its end, Jackson has reunited with McGee for the zany murder-mystery How to Get to Heaven From Belfast.
In the years since the world said goodbye to Erin and Derry, the Irish actor has cemented herself as a comic force, a deft character actor, and a sharp, swift hand at Chekhov. Last year she made her New York theater debut in Irishtown, a sly and smart off-Broadway comedy about cultural identity; and she played Natasha in Three Sisters at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, charting the chilling transformation of a shy, ridiculed woman into a tyrannical head of house. Elsewhere, as Cheryl Crawford in the Liverpool-set “Scouse Sopranos” series This City Is Ours (soon to release its second season), Jackson tells a story of life compromised by power, greed, and ambition; and later this year, she will hit the big screen alongside the late Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Rea, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in Vicky Wight’s The Body is Water.
And then, outside of film, television, and theater, Jackson was the central character of plenty of bridal Pinterest boards after her wedding to Hector Barbour (a.k.a. the Scottish DJ Denis Sulta.), where Derry Girls castmate Jamie O’Connell was among her bridesmaids and she walked down the aisle to the show’s theme, “Dreams” by The Cranberries.
Now back in McGee’s writing, so central to her initial rise, Jackson is embracing that lighter register again with a new sense of perspective. Below, Jackson talks with Vogue about the work and embracing all parts of herself.
Photo: Bryony Coles. Producer and assistant photographer: Luke Dunlop. Hair: Roisin McMenamin. Makeup: Aoife Boyle. Wearing Caólum McCabe, Karen Hegarty, Myrne Collective.
Vogue: It’s over a year on, but we have to talk about the cultural impact of your wedding.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson: We really had the time of our lives. I had such a strong vision for everything across the three days, and I was lucky to have people around me—like my wedding planner [Tara Fay] and stylist Kate Bryce—who just speak my language. It’s so funny to see how far it’s traveled. The whole thing felt like a fairytale.
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