ONE OF Ireland's fastest-rising stars has appeared in a new Netflix special paying homage to her native Galway.
Nicola Coughlan, who shot to fame as Clare in Derry Girls, has found a wealth of new fans since appearing in Netflix's new jewel Bridgerton, which has quickly become one of the streaming site's most popular original series.
On the screen, Coughlan is usually sporting a Derry accent-- or, most recently, an upper-class English accent-- but a new video diary going back to her roots sees the actress returning to her usual Galway brogue.
The eight-minute clip follows Nicola as she explores her hometown of Galway, from the iconic Long Walk to her old primary school and family home.
"I'm definitely a Galway girl," she tells the camera. "I sometimes lie and tell people that Ed Sheeran wrote that song about me."
In the love-letter to her native town, Nicola praises the constant buzz of creativity that can be found everywhere in Galway, from the buskers to the colours, saying "It just feels alive".
The video diary follows her career from her graduation from drama school to clinching the Derry Girls role and, after that, Bridgerton, but jokes she is "always treated like a 17-year-old" when she is at home.
Interviews with her friends, family and teachers from home, old home videos of Nicola as a child and the story of how the gift of a camcorder began her love of acting all helps to peel back the layers to reveal the proud Galway girl beneath her spectacular characters-- and can get somewhat emotional at times.
You can watch Nicola Coughlan's 'Made in Ireland' special on Youtube here.
