No literally. I felt like Gerry was such a great character being from the free state that he was abundantly aware, especially as a father of 2 Catholic daughters living in NI, why Joe disapproved of Gerry. He understood it all and even if he didn’t end up being as overbearing, he understood Joe’s reasoning behind the irritation at Mary and Sarah’s romantic partners. It kind of hit as someone who had a father growing up as the oppressor (english protestant father with german ancestry to the children of an irish catholic mother with jewish ancestry) who was still genuinely angry at all of my protestant boyfriends because he felt like they didn’t respect the girls. Like at the end of the day for both Joe and Gerry they want the best for their girls and that’s something they can bond over. Joe and Gerry are at odds to a point but I really believe that they’re one in the same and respect the desire to protect their daughters.
Clare in the first episode of season three (SPOILERS) where she says something along the lines of ”we’re girls, we’re poor, we’re from northern ireland, and we’re catholic” is something i think Joe and Gerry are both aware of and are trying to shield their girls from as much as they can. So that’s a common thread for the two of them as much as they know their priorities are a bit different in practice.
I’ve grown up in Canada with the spectre of awful things held over me (both the Troubles and the Holocaust; on opposite sides of the family) and I’ve never come across another show that was able to depict the intricacies of my maternal family dynamic and I think that what I love so much about derry girls. that i can talk with people about genuine atrocities and how they affected my family while also understanding the other atrocities my paternal grandmother endured while living in derry. it’s pretty incredible how these things happened to produce a very specific historical example in me and my 2 full sisters and presumably our children we’ll have. which i’m a born catholic in a post good friday agreement which i’ve been well aware of my whole life (which my english protestant baby bother has never had to understand). it’s just derry girls had made me consider my own heritage in a specific way that i’d never thought of before which is crazy for a sitcom.
like the troubles have held over my family so much i never thought of them at all. but they dictated my whole life and everything else it’s soooo crazy!!!!