A Curated Weekend with Siobhán McSweeney at The River Lee

The River Lee, part of the family-owned luxury hotel group The Doyle Collection, launches the fourth in their series of Curated Weekends in Cork, an inspired venture that aims to showcase Cork through the eyes of some of the county’s most creative minds.

After New York Times best-selling author and podcaster Caroline O’Donoghue, journalist Jo Linehan, and food writer and one half of Currabinny, William Murray created their guides in 2023 and 2024, this time around it’s the turn of BAFTA award-winning actress, presenter, pottery aficionado and all-round national

treasure, Siobhán McSweeney.

BAFTA-winner Siobhán grew up in the County Cork village of Aherla and, after studying in UCC and spending her formative years exploring Cork’s cultural core, 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 wonkyteapots.

Unsurprisingly, for a talented actor with a great comic and dramatic range, her Cork picks tend to be 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 has curated a Cork stay based in The River Lee that incorporates visits to these favourite venues along with a special selection of opportunities to explore fine local produce, enjoy delicious local drinks like the Safe Harbour in The River Club, and attempt a short journey back in time with an exceptional KINS facial, all by the banks of her own lovely Lee. 

You can read all about Siobhán’s Curated Weekend here. You can also find a range of other helpful guides to any stay in Cork on The River Lee website, from 48-hours in Cork, a guide that can dipped in to or followed from start to finish, or the Good Shopper guides that feature skincare wizardry and global fashion brands, all easily accessible from the hotel.

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.

To book: Siobhán McSweeney's Cork Theatre Weekend at The River Lee

www.thedoylecollection.com/cork