Starring alongside Tommy Tiernan

Game Of Thrones Ian McElhinney has joined the cast of Channel 4's new sitcom Derry Girls, set during the Northern Irish Troubles.

The Belfast-born star is best known for playing Barristan Selmy in HBO's hit series as well as General Dodonna in the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One.

As Chortle reported last week, the comedy also marks Tommy Tiernan’s return to sitcom for the first time in more than 15 years.

Derry Girls is about a 16-year-old, Erin Quinn, growing up during the 1990s and is based on the personal experiences of writer Lisa McGee, who previously penned the bawdy sitcom London Irish.

Tiernan plays Erin’s father and McElhinney her grandfather.

Other cast members have also been named, with Tara Lynne O’Neill, who played Joanne in Eastenders and Martina Dean in The Fall, as Erin’s ‘uncompromising’ mother.

The relatively unknown Saoirse Monica Jackson plays the central character with Kathy Kiera Clarke as her aunt.

McGee said: "I'm delighted to be able to tell the stories of real people living through the Troubles. And now, with the delicate political ecosystem of the country about to be tested by The Conservatives and The DUP, it seems well worth reminding ourselves how things were not so long ago, and what better way to do that than through comedy?’

Fiona McDermott, Channel 4's head of comedy, added: 'Lisa’s warm and brilliantly observed writing coupled with our fantastic cast has created a very funny, very original sitcom that pits the everyday lives of our Derry Girls against one of the most extraordinary backdrops in our recent history.'

Filming on Derry Girls is currently under way in Northern Ireland.

Published: 21 Jun 2017