The Walsh Sisters perfectly captures the joy and heartache of Irish sisterhood

The Walsh Sisters is the Irish series we've been waiting decades for

There's a reassurance in knowing that there are many Irish writers, Marian Keyes included, who take women's struggles seriously, but who don't forget about the light and joy at the same time.

The Walsh Sisters series is based on the Marian Keyes' books that many of us fell in love with in the 1990s, but Stefanie Preissner has done a particularly beautiful job of bringing the books to modern day.

I think that's why I feel comfort in knowing we have many episodes of The Walsh Sisters to look forward to over the next few weeks.

I was lucky enough to watch the first episode earlier this month, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. The thing with The Walsh Sisters is that it's both light and dark, it's full of wit and joy and charming Irish clichés, but it's also full of moments that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

The Walsh Sisters captures Irish sisterhood in the most gentle but genuine way, and a lot of that is down to the cast.

The Walsh Sisters stars Louisa Harland as Anna, Caroline Menton as Rachel, Danielle Galligan as Claire, Máiréad Tyers as Helen, and Stefanie Preissner as Maggie. These actresses were made for these roles, an invisible string leading them to this project that will comfort many Irish women.

Each actress brings something different to the series, but they all perfectly encompass what it means to be a woman in Ireland. Some critics will turn their noses up at the jokes about mammy's good room or the drunken dance routine, but The Walsh Sisters has struck the perfect balance of what Irish sisterhood really is.

The Walsh Sisters has reminded me of the joys of being a woman in her 30s, as well as the heartache that comes with it.

There's an ease in the conversations shared between women in Ireland, whether it's something light or something incredibly deep. That ease, that support, and sense of belonging is woven throughout every moment in The Walsh Sisters, just like it is in our real lives.

It's in the private jokes we carried from secondary school to adulthood, it's in the group text desperately trying to organise the lunch we were meant to have in February, and the quiet conversations we have about whether we do or don't want children.

That ease is woven through the tear-filled conversations when sharing your fertility struggles, your worries about never owning a home, and the admission of unrequited love.

But it's also there in the moment you jump around the 'good room' like a group of teenagers when your friend reveals she's engaged. It's there when you're singing along to CMAT with the girls in the office, and in the moments when the group chat is revived with photos from an impromptu night out.

There's something that many people won't understand or relate to when watching The Walsh Sisters, and that's their loss, but this is a show that will be a perfect antidote for Irish women. And one I cannot wait to tune into every Sunday for the next few weeks.

The Walsh Sisters returns on Sunday, October 5th at 9.30 pm on RTÉ 1.

Watch the trailer below: