Better known as ‘Mammy Banter’ online, the Derry stand-up reveals how a series of life-altering events, including the death of her twin brothers, marriage breakdown and an ADHD diagnosis, led her to find solace, and a career, in comedy
Serena Terry. Photo: Lorcan Doherty
For a woman who just turned 40, comedian Serena Terry has lived enough for several lifetimes. The death of her father and her best friend combined with an ADHD diagnosis, perimenopause, and all while trying to raise two children would be enough to stop anyone in their tracks. But she’s managed to turn the hardest tuff of her life in the last year into comedy gold.
Stand-up comedy, which she’s been doing for three years, wasn’t part of Terry’s life plan. One of seven siblings who grew up in a council estate in Derry, she went to university to study business and marketing after finishing school, before heading up the marketing department of a software company. She then became its chief operations officer.