Louisa Harland: "I miss the people and the energy of Dublin whenever I'm away from home"

Louisa Harland is on top of the world. With a dazzling list of acting credits to her name, she is in a prime position to take over the screen as much as she’s taken over the hearts of viewers all over the world.

Most recently, she played the role of Anna Walsh in the TV adaptation of Marian Keyes’ books, The Walsh Sisters, adding to her already brilliant CV.

But before Love/Hate, before Derry Girls, before Renegade Nell, before taking the West End stage, before The Walsh Sisters… before it all, Louisa Harland was a quiet young girl from Dundrum who was just getting into acting at the Ann Kavanagh Youth Theatre down the road.

Growing up, the Dubliner looked at the colourfully stacked shelves of Marian Keyes’ works in every bookshop, eventually reading and loving them herself. So when the casting call for The Walsh Sisters went out, Harland knew she had to take a chance.

“Marian’s books are the ones I remember most at the WH Smith in Dublin Airport. Her covers are just so distinctive,” recalls Harland. “I read Rachel’s Holiday ages ago and I massively enjoyed it. I think Marian’s books are meant to heal. They’re not meant to evoke trauma or past bad feelings. That’s the incredible thing about them. I don’t know a lot of people, especially Irish women, who haven’t heard of them.”

To bring Marian’s books to life in the modern context was no easy undertaking for showrunner Stefanie Preissner, who also played the role of Maggie Walsh. While in the books the characters are typically apart, Preissner opted for a different approach and decided to set The Walsh Sisters in Dublin.

“It’s such an ensemble piece,” says Harland. “Caroline Menton, who plays Rachel, is an incredible actor and her performance is fantastic. Stefanie had so many hats while making this. I’ve known Danny [Danielle Galligan] for ages, we used to do youth theatre together. Máiréad [Tyers] is just simply amazing. I remember my friend Siobhán [McSweeney] worked with her years ago and she rang me saying, ‘You have to work with this girl’. I’m really glad they’ve arranged such an incredible ensemble that weaves together quite effortlessly.

“Marian even popped in and out of the set. She is just joy personified and makes you feel so loved when you’re around her. There was definitely pressure to take on such a popular role. But we were so lucky to have Marian in the room while making this. Getting reassurance from the woman herself was more than enough to ease the pressure.”

The Walsh Sisters. Photo: James Pierce

What makes The Walsh Sisters so realistic is the cast’s unique chemistry – you’d be hard-pressed to view the actors as anything but sisters in real life. Even from the first meeting, it seemed abundantly obvious the casting directors had struck gold.

“On the first day of rehearsals, we were all just chatting. I mean, it was nonstop,” says Harland. “We were so desperate to get to know each other, and just couldn’t wait to delve in and start doing scenes together.

“It was my birthday during one of the early rehearsals. Now, I hate my birthday, so I certainly don’t go in and tell everyone. But then Danny, who I’ve known forever, went, ‘Sorry, isn’t it your birthday today?’ So then all the girls were running around getting cakes and flowers, and we had a little party. To me, that’s what our show is all about. In a sense, there’s a lot of fumbling around and chatting away.”

PEOPLE ARE CULTURE

Harland’s Anna is a fearsome thing to behold. Watching her contented life and general sanity unravel on the screen is no easy watch, but the actor makes it so you can’t look away. She plays the role with such uncompromising tenacity, and the sense of grief cuts to the bone. Harland knew she was meant to be in The Walsh Sisters, not just for the chance to play such a complex character, but because she saw pieces of herself in Anna.

“Anna Walsh is probably the closest character I’ve played to myself,” says the actress. “I grew up in a similar area to her and I’ve got sisters myself. There’s so much of her in me. Just having sisters gives you a lot of context for the show. Even in how they talk to each other. I mean, you’d never speak to your friends the way you speak to your sisters! It’s very emotional being around them. So in reading about the Walsh sisters and how they speak to each other, I was like, ‘No. I believe this.’”

Just like Anna Walsh, Harland herself is from Dundrum. As she took on the role, the actor found herself reminiscing on her South Dublin upbringing and missing her hometown. So when she was in town for the premiere of The Walsh Sisters, Harland – who currently lives in London – made sure her diary was packed.

“Whenever I come back, I try to see as many people as I physically can,” she laughs. “For the premiere, I was in Dublin for about 48 hours, and obviously I went and saw family. We all went up to The Blue

Light, which is close to where I grew up. It’s my favourite pub, I spent a lot of my life going up there.

“I really miss the people and the energy of Dublin whenever I’m away from home. There’s something uncomfortable about living in London and it kind of keeps me driven in my work. But whenever I go home, I feel like I can breathe and relax entirely.

“I’ll always try to see something in Vicar Street when I’m home. It’s the best venue in town. When I was back home filming The Walsh Sisters, I saw Bob the Drag Queen and Tommy Tiernan in the same week.

They were amazing. I also go to Damien Dempsey’s Christmas gigs every year, and they are always the best gigs ever. I love that venue so much and there’s no shortage of great shows there. But I don’t think anything will top Damo’s Christmas gigs!”

Returning home also means returning to her roots. Before the auditions, the chemistry tests, the call sheets and the red carpets, Harland was a girl who simply enjoyed hanging out with her friends, listening to music and driving around South Dublin.

“When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to drive up to the mountains,” Harland recalls. “We’d go around Three Rock, just taking it in, taking some film pictures and listening to music. There was definitely an eclectic mix of tunes. If we were to find some of those CDs and they weren’t too scratched, there’d be Damien Dempsey, Kanye West, Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, maybe even a track from Hamilton. And the biggest rule: no skips!”

Having emigrated, Harland reflects on how distance sheds a new light on her hometown, offering feelings of warmth and affection. Naturally, I’m curious to know her favourite spots in Dublin whenever she’s back.

“I really love The New Theatre,” she says. “They always have amazing plays. Then you can pop over to Connolly’s Bookshop after! If I ever have friends in town, I bring them to the mountains and stop for a pint in The Merry Ploughboy around Rathfarnham or The Blue Light. They are the best places for a good chat and pint.

Connolly Books.

“In terms of food, Bambino is my favourite place at the moment. Their Margherita is my go-to order. I also love Portobello. There are some lovely bakeries on Lennox Street. I used to dream of living on that road with all the bakeries and the Grand Canal around the corner.

“I’m just buzzing every time I go back to Dublin. You get a real rose-tinted nostalgia for it when you move away. You know, when it comes to Dublin, it’s all about the culture. I mean, it’s hard not to mention the pubs, because a lot of the city’s culture is in the pubs. But it’s such a great city for music and musicians as well.

“That’s how I would describe Dublin: it’s based on culture, theatre, live music, poetry and the arts. Then at the end of the day, it’s all about the people. People are culture.”

• The Walsh Sisters is streaming now on the RTÉ Player.

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