You can’t beat a travel tip from a local.

Now one of Cork’s most famous exports has provided fans with all her tips for a whistle stop tour of Cork, Siobhán McSweeney style.

The BAFTA-winner, who grew up in the County Cork village of Aherla, has teamed up with Cork’s River Lee Hotel to create a carefully curated 48-hour plan for enjoying the city.

After studying in UCC and spending her formative years exploring Cork’s cultural core, Siobhán moved to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Her breakthrough role was with her sublimely deadpan turn as Sister Michael in the sitcom Derry Girls, and she currently hosts Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, where she can frequently be seen expressing deep affection for wonky teapots.

Unsurprisingly, for a talented actor with a great comic and dramatic range, her Cork picks are theatre and performance-related, including The Everyman Theatre where she made her professional debut (“…the most beautiful theatre ever, I think,” she says), The Opera House, where she saw her first panto and recently performed for the first time in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, and beloved music venue Cyprus Avenue.

“So many music venues have disappeared over the years,” says Siobhán, “but Cyprus Avenue has stuck the course. Expect to see American bluegrass one night, followed by a drag rave another night — eclectic is the word that characterises the place.”

Siobhán describes her ideal Leeside weekender as “a bit elegant, a bit wild, and full of rascals and vagabonds, flavour, beauty, and personality.”

Kicking things off in The Mirror Room at The River Lee with a full Irish and a chia pudding (“One for the heart, one for the conscience.”), Siobhán recommends a facial at the hotel’s treatment suite, a visit to The Everyman on MacCurtain Street and a gig in St Luke’s Church:

“I’ve seen many transfixing performances by Irish and international artists here, but I always forget to bring a cushion. Rookie mistake. Your arse will regret it, even if your soul sings.”

The next morning, fuelled by cappuccino and a croissant, Siobhán wandered down the river to the Triskel Arts Centre before visiting Cork Opera House and Cyprus Avenue for music and late night pints.

You can read all about Siobhán’s Curated Weekend here. A two-night weekend stay for two with dinner on one evening and an exclusive, behind the scenes tour of The Everyman Theatre is available from €795.