Derry Girls has a loyal following in the U.K., and thanks to Netflix, its fanbase is now all over the world. Set in the 90s, the series follows a group of friends in Derry, Ireland as their country engages in civil war.
- With the final season of Derry Girls landing on Netflix for the world to stream, the show didn’t add a lot of new characters to the mix. Instead, it fleshed out emotional stories for the core cast, and even gave the audience flashbacks to the moms of the series as teens. Season 3 gave fans an even better idea of the layers to the personalities of the characters, allowing for fans to analyze even more Hogwarts house traits.
If the Derry Girls characters had attended Hogwarts, the teenagers would have been there at the same time as Harry Potter himself. Fans could likely imagine Clare excelling in Potions, Orla finding a kindred spirit in Luna Lovegood, Erin using a quick-quotes-quill to journal her experiences, and Michelle doing her best to break every rule in the school. Here are the Derry Girls characters sorted into their Hogwarts houses.
Sarah: Hufflepuff
Orla’s mother is a little chaotic, but she’s always there for her family. She doesn’t seem to have the drive to be a Slytherin, the steadfast nature of a Gryffindor, or the academic interest of a Ravenclaw. That leaves her best match of a house as Hufflepuff.
Hufflepuffs are said not to be “afraid of toil,” and though Sarah doesn’t seem to be the hardest working member of the household, she’s definitely one of the most loyal, which is another Hufflepuff trait. She loves her family fiercely, and is always ready to defend her daughter, her sister, or her father when someone speaks ill of them.
Mary: Ravenclaw
Mary isn’t always seen as the most entertaining member of Erin’s family, but that’s okay. Like her husband, she’s often the voice of reason for the rest of the members. There are exceptions when she’s excited about the potential sightings of different celebrities, but for the most part, she’s organized and ready to logically refute any of her sister’s outlandish claims.
Mary also has the Ravenclaw love of learning. That’s something fans get a better look at in season 3. She’s ready to have the Good Friday Referendum broken down into digestible parts, with plenty of questions to make sure she understands it. She also wants to go back to school even though she’s 20 years removed from it, interested in finally getting a degree in literature. For a Ravenclaw, there’s always something new to learn.
Joe: Gryffindor
Grandpa Joe might seem rough around the edges, but he really wears his heart on his sleeve, just like a Gryffindor. He’s gruff with Gerry, but he’s content being Orla’s date to a school dance, and won’t hear a single disparaging remark about either of his daughters.
Joe is also quick to rush to judgment, a solidly Gryffindor trait. Gryffindors can be impulsive, trusting their instincts more than logic. That often puts Joe at odds with his son-in-law since his stubborn Gryffindor nature won’t allow him to admit that he’s wrong.
Gerry: Hufflepuff
Erin’s father might be one of the members of the household with the most common sense, but his intelligence doesn’t quite put him in Ravenclaw. That’s because he also seems to be the person most often put in a position to work for the family - and not in the traditional way.
It’s Gerry who ends up driving his father-in-law on a quest to track down the president of the United States of America, is perfectly willing to make sure his wife can go back to school if she wants to, and who is there to tell one of Erin’s best friends about a tragedy befalling her father. He’s got the Hufflepuff work ethic and loyal nature.
Orla: Hufflepuff
Orla might remind Harry Potter fans of Luna Lovegood with her eccentric interests, but the sorting hat probably wouldn’t place her in Luna’s house. Ravenclaw would be a nice option for Orla, but Hufflepuff is where she fits.
Despite Erin’s frequent annoyance with how clingy Orla is, Orla is clearly all about loyalty and family. She constantly surrounds herself with family and friends. Even though her interests aren’t their interests, that doesn’t stop Orla from making sure her friends are safe from bears in the country or lamenting that she forgot her plunger when her cousin needs one. She also never understands that one person might want an advantage over another, believing in life as an even playing field.
Clare: Ravenclaw
Clare’s tendency to sell her friends out when she’s in trouble leans toward Slytherin, but Ravenclaw is a better fit for her. Of the Derry Girls, Clare is certainly the most studious.
She’s the kind of student who prides herself on learning everything as the teacher lays it out, completing assignments on time, and studying down to the tiniest details. Clare is the study partner who will annoy her friends because she believes they have to know everything. She’ll likely never stop wanting to learn more.
Mae: Slytherin
Season 2 of Derry Girls introduced new student Mae. In Derry just in time for the school dance, the girls wanted her to join their friend group. She agreed to attend the dance with Claire, and even went shopping with Claire, Erin, Michelle, James, and Orla.
While all of that sounds good, Mae wasn’t really interested in being one of the group. Instead, Mae was interested in being in charge. She also didn’t take kindly to anyone telling her no, demonstrated by her plan to cover Jenny Joyce in tomato sauce. Her sneaky inclinations and ambition make her a Slytherin.
Father Peter: Gryffindor
Derry Girls focuses largely on its main cast of five and Erin’s family. There are only a handful of characters who appear on the series repeatedly, but Father Peter is one character that pops up throughout the show.
A priest brought in to investigate a supposed miracle in Derry, Father Peter temporarily leaves the priesthood when he falls in love with a hairdresser. His decision to leave his position and follow his heart is a brave one. Braver is his decision to return to the priesthood when he realizes he really does have a calling. That leans his sorting toward Gryffindor. His need to be the leader compared to those school officials around him, and his belief that his ideals are always correct solidify the sorting.
Sister Michael: Slytherin
Sister Michael runs the show at school. Don’t let the fact that she’s a nun fool you. She is as sneaky as they come. That’s why she’s a Slytherin.
While the audience doesn’t know much about Sister Michael’s ambitions outside of running an all-girls school, they do know how tricky she can be while teaching them. Sister Michael understands teenagers, proven by her deadpan delivery of lines to them, despite seeming like she doesn’t really want to. When President Clinton makes a visit to Derry, Sister Michael orders the students to show up for classes instead of attending the historic speech. The pride on her face when she realizes nearly the entire school broke the rules tells the audience her cunning plan to get her students to be independent thinkers is working.
Jenny: Gryffindor
Jenny Joyce, surprisingly, might be one of the hardest characters to sort. Her ambition could make her a Slytherin, and her need for fairness at school could make her a Hufflepuff. The sorting hat, however, makes the surprising pick of Gryffindor for her.
Jenny isn’t a rule breaker who laughs in the face of authority. In fact, she shows up to class when everyone else doesn’t. There’s no rebellious Gryffindor in her. When everyone your age is a rebel though, being the one who follows the rules and stands firm in who you are is brave. Jenny makes no apologies for wanting to be the center of attention or wanting the clearly defined rules followed exactly. She’s a different kind of Gryffindor than Harry Potter fans are used to.
Aisling: Hufflepuff
Aisling is Jenny Joyce’s best friend, or most loyal follower, depending on how their relationship is viewed. It’s rare to see Aisling on the series unless she’s glued to Jenny’s side.
Because of how close she is to Jenny, Aisling rarely goes against her. That loyalty makes her a Hufflepuff, but there’s more to Aisling than just loyalty. Aisling also appears to be even harder working than Jenny. Jenny might be singing on the mic, but it’s Aisling playing the music, singing backup, and helping Jenny write the lyrics. There’s no one harder working than a Hufflepuff.
Michelle: Slytherin
If anyone on the series is a textbook Slytherin, it’s Michelle. There’s not a single time Michelle isn’t going to try to find a creative way to get out of a situation or break a rule.
Michelle craves excitement and attention, like any Gryffindor would. Her way of achieving it, however, isn’t through hard work or heroics. Instead, it’s through deception. She’ll smuggle a suitcase of vodka to a concert or tell students she’s an anonymous lesbian writer if it’ll get her to the top of the social food chain.
James: Hufflepuff
Like Orla, James is a little more eccentric than the rest of his friend group. The only teenage boy to attend the girls’ Catholic school in Derry, James never quite feels like he fits in. Despite that, he’s got unflinching loyalty to his cousin Michelle and her friends, making him quite the Hufflepuff.
Of course, James also tends to develop a sense of loyalty for nearly anyone who treats him decently, likely a product of repeatedly being abandoned by his mother. That doesn’t stop him from nearly deciding to return to London with his mother when she claims she needs him. He ultimately decides to stay in Derry with Michelle’s family, proclaiming himself “a Derry Girl,” in one of the show’s best moments, proving that he does value the friendships he’s made there above all else.
Erin: Ravenclaw
Like Jenny Joyce, Erin is a difficult character to sort. She embodies traits from all the Hogwarts houses nearly equally. Her important motivating factor in the series though is her desire to have something to write about.
She isn’t the most book-smart of her friends (that honor easily goes to Clare), but when Erin is interested in something, she’s all in. Her desire to write about her experiences during the Troubles causes her to soak up every bit of literary training she can get from her temporary teacher Ms. De Bruin. She also takes over the school paper, though a severe bout of writer’s block makes her panic. Erin’s love of writing, and her head often being in the clouds as a result, makes her a Ravenclaw.
