Visit Nothern Ireland and you’re in for some craic
Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney tells GEORGIA HUMPHREYS about exploring the province for her new TV series
DERRY GIRLS star Siobhan McSweeney, 41, has climbed aboard an electric bike for TV’s latest celebrity travelogue.
In exploring Northern Ireland With Siobhan McSweeney, the actress from Cork – Sister Michael in the popular Channel 4 series – delivers her own “affectionate and mischievous take on the province” during her travels.
What was your initial reaction when you were asked to do this?
I think I was a little bit surprised – very surprised – anybody would want me to do it. Especially because they wanted an outdoors feel to it.
And I’m like, ‘Well, you’ll need somebody who likes the outdoors’. I mean, I love rambling, hiking. But when I thought about it, I was delighted to leave the flat.
I was excited to show Northern Ireland in a way that I feel isn’t being shown at all, and I was very excited about exploring the place. Going back, I feel like I’m at home.
What was it about Northern Ireland that surprised you during filming?
We have four episodes and they each deal with a geographic area. Those areas would have very distinct feels, landscapes, and even the activities we’d get up to would be quite different in each area. And you got a different vibe from the place. And that surprised me a lot. I loved how different every place was.
What didn’t surprise me was the vast and warm and generous welcome we got. There is a great pride in Northern Ireland. It’s a very interesting place and especially here in Britain, we only see one aspect of it.
How did it feel fronting the series by yourself?
Presenting is great fun, but it’s a side hustle. Dermot O’Leary wasn’t available? OK, you don’t want real presenters, that’s fine.
So it was that paradox of feeling awkward being myself, as I had no character to hide behind. But great personal validation feeling, ‘Well, they know I’m probably not any good at this, so I don’t have to be. I can be myself’.
What do you hope people will take from the series?
People have loads of misconceptions around Northern Ireland. I hope you see that it’s an incredibly beautiful, and poetic, inspiring country, filled with beautiful, poetic, inspiring people who are just living their lives.
They’re mortified and embarrassed and utterly bored, by the way they’re portrayed and neglected. There are huge problems, absolutely – but there are everywhere. If you go there, you are guaranteed to have a wonderful time.
I couldn’t be more grateful to the people of Northern Ireland for allowing me to stomp around their beautiful country. But if it means more people go there in a respectful and open-hearted way, then you’re in for some craic, I’ll tell you.
How has life changed for you thanks to Derry Girls?
The reaction has been extraordinary. I have more opportunities now, without a shadow of a doubt. Some people think I’m an actual nun, which is quite hilarious.
Derry Girls filming was delayed because of the pandemic; what can you tell us about the third series?
All we know for certain is that series three is written. We’re hoping to do it this year; you can imagine what our schedules are like, it’s ridiculous. The intention is to get it done obviously.
Nobody’s willing to sacrifice quality, so it means we need a certain level of coronavirus safety. We won’t compromise on quality. It’s not fair to any of us, and it’s not fair to the people who love the show.
Exploring Northern Ireland with Siobhan McSweeney continues on Thursday on More4 at 9pm