How To Get To Heaven From Belfast: Every ‘Derry Girls’ Cast Member Who Appears (Pictures)

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Netflix’s How to Get to Heaven from Belfast features familiar faces from the hit show Derry Girls. The new eight-part comedy thriller, set in 2026, follows three friends – Saorise, Robyn, and Dara – who reconnect after a friend from their past dies. As they come back together, they uncover unsettling truths and face difficult realizations about their shared history and what really happened with their friendship.

Lisa McGee, the creator of Derry Girls, also made How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. The new show shares similarities with Derry Girls, particularly its emphasis on strong female friendships and its Northern Irish location. Although the shows aren’t connected, McGee brought in several actors from Derry Girls to appear in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

Every Main Derry Girls Cast Member Who Appears in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast

Sinéad Keenan – Robyn / Aideen

In the series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Sinéad Keenan plays Robyn, a central character who’s struggling with the pressures of raising three children and a difficult marriage. As the most assertive of her friends, Robyn helps the group deal with the confusing events following Greta’s disappearance.

In Season 3, Episode 3 of Derry Girls, Kennan played Aideen O’Shea, a fellow train passenger with a connection to both Orla and Erin during the Quinn family’s trip to Belfast.

Bronagh Gallagher – Booker / Herself

Bronagh Gallagher will appear in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast as Booker, a character introduced in Episode 2. Booker plays a key role in Greta’s disappearance and has connections to the mysterious Heaven’s Veil.

Although Gallagher, an Irish singer, was important in a Netflix series, she only had a small part in Derry Girls. She appeared as herself during a performance in the show’s final episode.

Saoirse-Monica Jackson – Feeney / Erin Quinn

I was really excited to see Saoirse-Monica Jackson – you might recognize her as one of the stars of Derry Girls and even Patty Spivot from The Flash – in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. She plays Feeney, and it turns out her character is a secret agent with a really important job: cleaning up the aftermath of a program that helps women escape abusive situations. It’s a powerful role, and she does a great job with it.

Saoirse-Monica Jackson is working with Lisa McGee again on a new Netflix series. They previously collaborated on the hit Irish comedy Derry Girls, where Jackson starred as Erin Quinn throughout all three seasons. Derry Girls followed Erin and her friends – Orla, Clare, Michelle, and James – as they navigated the ups and downs of growing up, with Erin dreaming of becoming a journalist.

Emmett J. Scanlan – Owen / Mad Stab

Emmett J. Scanlan, known for his work with Henry Cavill in In the Grey, gives a chilling performance as Owen in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. Owen is married to Greta and harbors dark secrets related to her mysterious death. He also serves as the police chief in the Donegal region.

Scanlan and Lisa McGee previously collaborated on Derry Girls, with Scanlan appearing as the character Madstab in Season 3, Episode 6. Madstab is a villain who causes trouble for the main group of friends, angrily accusing them of cutting in line for concert tickets on Halloween and leading to a showdown with James.

Ardal O’Hanlan – Seamus / Eamonn

In the film How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Ardal O’Hanlon plays Seamus, a unique hotel owner from Donegal. He offers Saorise, Robyn, and Dara a place to stay while they work on their investigation.

The actor played Eammon, a recurring character on Derry Girls. Eammon is Orla’s cousin and has been easily led by his mother, Bridie, for a long time.

Peter Campion – Jim / Father Peter Conway

Jim, played by Peter Campion, is Robyn’s husband. While some might see him as flawed, it’s clear he deeply loves his wife.

Campion played Father Peter Conway in Derry Girls, a young priest who caught the attention of the main characters starting in Season 1. He briefly left the priesthood to pursue a relationship with a hairdresser.

Eleanor Methven – Mrs. Friel / Bridie

I was really pleased to see Eleanor Methven in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast! She plays Mrs. Friel, which is a fantastic role – she’s Dara’s very religious mother in what’s a really funny and thrilling film.

In Season 2 of Derry Girls, the character Birdie, who is Mary and Sarah’s aunt, was introduced. She offended Mary, Sarah, and Joe in the fourth episode.

Maria Laird – Young Robyn / Tina O’Connell

Maria Laird played a younger version of the character Robyn in flashback scenes in the series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

Following her role as Tina O’Connell in Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls, where she played a freshman who relied on her older sister to scare off older students, Laird is once again collaborating with McGee on a new project.

Ryan McParland – Feargal / Jonjo

In How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Ryan McParland plays Feargal, the enigmatic brother-in-law of Greta, and a character potentially connected to the Heaven’s Veil.

McParland also played Jonjo in Derry Girls, a local vegetable seller who often chatted with the main characters. He famously didn’t appreciate Gary Barlow’s music, which led to a funny walkout by James.

Julia Dearden – Bridget / Maureen Malarkey

Julia Dearden has joined the cast of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, playing Bridget, a morgue janitor who first appeared in the second episode.

Dearden became well-known for her role as Maureen Malarkey, the elderly neighbor of the Quinn family, in the show Derry Girls.

Conor MacNeill – Conrad / Hans

Conor MacNeill appears as a lowly pickup truck driver in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. 

In Season 3, Episode 1 of Derry Girls, actor MacNeill played Hans, a character who attempts to sneak onto university grounds and crosses paths with Erin and her friends.

Thommas Kane Byrne – Nurse Bosco Dunne / Fintan

Thommas Kane Byrne plays Nurse Bosco Dunne in the series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. He first appears in Episode 6, where he’s the nurse looking after police officer Liam, who was shot in the previous episode.

Byrne played a small but funny part in Derry Girls as Fintan, nicknamed Fifi. He was the amusing gatekeeper at the Fatboy Slim concert, known for always carrying a clipboard.

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2026-02-19 03:37