In the new Best of Ireland (which is on the shelves now), TV's best-loved nun shares with us her must-visits for everyone who fancies taking the trip out to her home county of Cork, as well as her highlights from a colourful acting career.

But before that, she gave us an insight into what it's like to play the sarcastic, quick witted Sister Michael, on Channel 4's Derry Girls.

“Oh, she’s wonderful!” Siobhán says of her eye-rolling character. “What I love about Sister Michael is that she has a life outside of being a nun. She has an awareness of the whole world. She’s not closeted away and she’s not ignorant. You could argue that she’s the only one that has a proper handle on things. She observes the world with a clinical eye rather than getting too wrapped up in things. She’s the sort of woman I’d really like to go for a pint with.”

Asked whether she drew inspiration from a real life nun for Sister Michael, Siobhán shakes her head and says, “No, I was never taught by a nun. I’ve never had an encounter with a nun. Knowingly. They may have been in disguise. She’s drawn from Lisa McGee’s wonderful writing. Possibly, I share a similar short fuse or a lack of patience. But apart from that, I’m not as well dressed or as fantastic as the woman, unfortunately.”

It’s like picking your favourite child, but a quick Best of Ireland office straw poll revealed The Child Of Prague scene to be our fave Season 2 episode so far. Was there much religious iconography in the McSweeney house growing up?

“Oh yes, we had statues,” she nods. “My cousins had one of those blessings you get from The Pope – they probably sent a postal order off to the Vatican for it. JFK was above the Aga. There are certain marks of a time that are universal!”

To read the full Siobhán McSweeney interview, buy the new 2019 Best of Ireland here: https://shop.hotpress.com