‘I knew it would be trailblazing': Co Armagh actor on new C4 comedy and getting to work with big names on screen
That actor Ryan McParland says he's always 'been drawn to a challenge' is evident in his comprehensive, never reflective of being pigeonholed CV.
Say Nothing, Derry Girls, Good Vibrations, Halo, Ballywalter, plus numerous stage appearances, the list goes on — and it continues to be a busy 2025 for the Mullaghbawn actor.
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The National
a day ago
- The National
Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Denis Sulta honour Celtic roots in wedding
The 31-year-old, who plays schoolgirl Erin Quinn in the hit comedy, wore a cream dress with puff sleeves as she wed Hector Barbour, known as Denis Sulta, just outside of Kenmare in Co Kerry, according to British Vogue. Derry Girls co-star Jamie-Lee O'Donnell wore a long green Rat & Boa dress and attended as one of the bridesmaids while Jackson was walked down the aisle by her father to a cover of the TV show's theme song Dreams by The Cranberries. Speaking to Vogue, Jackson said of the celebrations: 'Everybody said that the whole weekend was like something from a movie, and it really was. 'I want to do it again.' READ MORE: This Scottish road trip with 'magnificent' scenery is one of the UK's greatest Jackson's dress transformed for the evening, which included shortening the skirt and reversing the corset to reveal a tartan side. There were nods to the bride's mother and mother-in-law's wedding dresses featured in the design of Jackson's custom Annie's Ibiza dress, she told the publication. Barbour proposed with a custom ring during a trip to a beach in Donegal while the pair were wearing Dryrobes and Crocs, their pair told Vogue. Jackson said Barbour had written down everything he said during the proposal which she enjoyed being able to read back. The couple originally thought they would get married abroad in order to have an outdoor celebration but settled on Ireland in order to pay tribute to their shared Celtic heritage, they told Vogue. Barbour, who is Scottish, wore a kilt and feathered hat for the ceremony, along with his groomsmen. In a post on Instagram with photos from the celebrations, Jackson wrote 'to infinity and beyond' and included a video of the pair embracing, with her husband lifting her up on the dancefloor. In another post featuring videos from the day, she wrote 'to all our loved ones, you are everything'. One of the clips shows Jackson posing in her wedding dress joking 'she's a shy bride, a very shy bride' and later asking 'When's the kissing?' Jackson can be seen sipping a pint of Guinness in a photo while a video features the bride dancing with O'Donnell, who played fellow schoolgirl Michelle Mallon in Derry Girls. The Bafta award-winning series, created and written by Lisa McGee on Channel 4, follows a group of teenagers growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1990s before the Good Friday Agreement.
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Top 5 video game developers that have wasted their talents - Reader's Feature
A reader lists the five developers he believes have squandered their abilities, from The Last Of Us maker Naughty Dog to Metal Gear's Hideo Kojima. There is a problem with video games that has become very apparent in recent years, which is that they now take a lot longer to make than they used to (and need a lot more money). Even casual gamers are becoming aware of the problem but one of the knock-on effects of a game taking six or more years to make is that some developers are producing only one game a generation, and sometimes not even managing that. Not only that but they have to choose what it is they're making even more carefully. You can't risk anything too experimental if it's going to cost a fortune and be your only way of generating money for another six years. I feel this is a big reason behind the problems in gaming at the moment and I also think it's making some of the already self-destructive tendencies of some developers even worse. Sadly, I had quite a few ideas for this list and at one point was going to include FromSoftware, because they seem stuck making nothing but Soulslikes. But since they're all really good, and they did make that weird VR game that nobody played, they didn't make the cut. I also considered Bethesda, but their problem is not that they're wasting their talents but that they refuse to learn from their mistakes or get other people to help them. We should be on Fallout: New Vegas 3 by now but either Bethesda are too arrogant or too controlling to stop with the micro-management. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. In the 2000s, Bungie would've easily made the top five of anyone's list of the best developers. They were on fire with the Halo series, and they seemed to do the right thing by leaving it while they were on top and making a big hit of Destiny. But then they fell out with Activision and Destiny 2 went on a sharp decline that it's clearly never getting out of. For the last few years there's been talk of Bungie doing lots of other games that aren't first person shooters but in the end all they've announced is Marathon, which is clearly dead on arrival. They've completely wasted the last 10 years (bad management is the reason always given) and if they're even still around by the end of the year I'll be shocked. The problem with Naughty Dog is that, in terms of basic gameplay, they've been making the same game for nearly two decades now. Uncharted and The Last Of Us might have different tones but they still play the same and I'm really getting tired of it. There never needed to be a The Last Of Us Part 2 – there certainly never needed to be a remake of Part 1 – but they're kind of trapped by their own success, like a typecast movie star. I'm hopeful that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be something different but I have a feeling we'll still be throwing rocks to distract bad guys at some point. I'd just like to see them do something different and inventive, not the same old games where the only thing that's different is the story. In their early days Naughty Dog used to make Crash Bandicoot and Jak And Daxter but Rockstar used to be even more varied, with everything from Smuggler's Run to Midnight Club, Oni, Manhunt, and Max Payne. Heck, technically they used to make Lemmings. Now though they make GTA or GTA in the Wild West and that's it. When Rockstar were coming into their own they used their success to do whatever they wanted, whether it was a table tennis game or a game of The Warriors. They didn't seem to care as long as it was something that interested them. But now that GTA is the biggest thing ever, that success has got too much and they're stuck making only sequels and never inventing anything new. Hideo Kojima isn't quite like these other picks because not only is he just one guy but none of his games, not even Metal Gear Solid, have been that big. But that's not the point. The problem is that one of the world's most celebrated developers has been stuck working on the same franchise (that was past its sell by date by the fourth entry) for 80% of his career. And then, when he broke away and started up his own company, he made a weird, bonkers game and then followed that up with… a sequel that hardly did anything different and completely didn't need to exist. I say this as a fan too, because I do admire the man, but there's an alternative timeline out there where he's made a completely different game every time and I wish that was the one we lived in. No matter what these other companies have done, whether it's being victims of their own success or management problems, Valve will always be the most disappointing. When they made Portal 2 in 2011 they were on top of the world, unstoppable and unquestionably one of the best video game developers in the world. Now? They just run Steam and don't really make games anymore. More Trending They definitely haven't made a normal single-player game since Portal and at this point I don't think there's any reason to expect they ever will. But why? Why throw away all that expertise? Didn't the people at Valve enjoy making video games? Wasn't it satisfying, and lucrative, to have so many hit games, one after another? I just don't get it; it's such a waste. By reader Goldie The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: Road Rash Is the best Sega Mega Drive racing game – Reader's Feature MORE: Why is Nintendo trying to make the Switch 2 seem so unexciting? - Reader's Feature MORE: The video game that made me fall in love with gaming - Reader's Feature
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast comedian wins funniest one-liner at Edinburgh Fringe Festival
An NI comedian has opened up about the story behind his award winning Edinburgh Fringe Festival joke.
