'˜Derry Girl' Lisa is Queen's Graduate of the Year

The annual award is presented by the Queen’s Graduates’ Association, with the support of First Trust Bank, to an outstanding graduate who has made a significant impact during the past 12 months.

Making the announcement, QGA President Fergal McFerran, said: “What a year 2018 has been for Lisa and the team behind Derry Girls! I am so pleased that we are able to recognise Lisa, her talents and the incredible contribution she is making, with this award. I know that she has fond memories of her time at university and this award reflects the esteem in which the entire Queen’s University community holds her.”

Lisa attended Queen’s to read Drama and graduated in 2002. Early in her student days she realised that acting was not for her, so she concentrated on writing. It was while Lisa was at university that she scripted her first plays – Girls and Dolls and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

Speaking to the University’s alumni magazine, The Graduate, Lisa said: “I am beyond thrilled to be receiving this Award. It really is such a huge honour.

“Queen’s holds a very special place in my heart and I cherish the time I spent as a student there. It’s where I wrote my earliest plays and where I made some lifelong friends, in fact several members of our cast and crew on Derry Girls were old Queen’s classmates of mine.

“It was a wonderfully supportive environment to grow as a creative. I found my voice as a writer there and for that I will be eternally grateful.”

Commenting on the announcement, First Trust Bank Branch Manager, Charlotte Maguire said: “This year’s winner, Lisa McGee, is proof that a good degree, a prodigious writing talent and a resilient Northern Ireland determination, really can pay off! I can think of no more worthy recipient for the 2018/19 Graduate of the Year Award.”