Booking for the 30th West Cork Chamber Music Festival open

 

Booking for the 30th West Cork Chamber Music Festival opens Wednesday 12 March  Five international quartets are at the heart of this year's programme –Doric Quartet from UK; Ardeo Quartet with musicians from Japan, France and South Korea; Tchalik Quartet from Ukraine; Marmen Quartet consisting of Swedish, Swiss, Irish and New Zealand-born musicians; and Chiaroscuro Quartet which is made up of musicians from Russia, Spain and France.  Their collective repertoire will include much-loved works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms as well as a wide selection of less familiar works.   The line-up of world-class soloists will be led by Irish pianist Barry Douglas, who also performed at the first Festival in 1996. He will be joined by Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud and his musical sons and daughter; Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey; Dutch cellist Ella van Poucke; French pianist Nathalia Milstein; Australian mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean and her violist/composer father Brett Dean; French transverse flute player Anna Besson who will bring her a nocte temporis ensemble with the tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen; French harpist Agnès Clément; American soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon; American pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough; German – Irish cellist Nuala McKenna; British baroque violinist Rachel Podger and her ensemble Brecon Baroque; Austrian-German violist Emma Wernig and many more.   Ensembles include Pacific Quintet, five young wind players from Ukraine, Honduras, South Korea, Germany and Japan; and Woodpeckers Quartet, a Scandinavian ensemble of recorders led by Kate Hearne. Throughout the week, the Festival Fringe presents free, family-friendly concerts on Whiddy, Sherkin, Bere and Heir Islands as well Cork Airport, Levis Corner House in Ballydehob, Uillinn in Skibbereen, Amar's Cafe in Schull, Two Green Shoots in Glengarriff, Arundels by the Pier in Ahakista and other venues.   Former BBC Radio 3 presenter Sean Rafferty will be interviewing musicians in the Talking Music morning sessions in the Brick Oven restaurant while young musician masterclasses and Ireland’s only instrument exhibition run throughout the week.  Images, clockwise from top left: Marmen Quartet; Tchalik Quartet; Chiaroscuro Quartet; Doric Quartet; Henning Kraggerud; Lucy Fitz Gibbon; Brett Dean; Mairéad Hickey, Ella van Poucke and Nathalia Milstein; Ardeo Quartet. Book Now 2025 Festival Brochure 2025 Concert Series Yukine Kuroki – Winner of the Dublin Piano Competition Sunday 9 March 3pm St Brendan's Church, Bantry Programme:  Debussy - Suite bergamasque L.75 - III. Clair de lune Bach-Busoni - Chaconne from Partita No.2 in D minor BWV1004 Fergus Johnston - Music Network Commission Stravinsky - The Firebird Suite (arr. Guido Agosti) - Danse infernale du roi Kastcheï, Berceuse, Finale Minako Tokuyama - Musica Nara, Op. 25 Rachmaninoff - Sonata for Piano No. 2 in B -flat Minor, Op. 36 Kapustin - Variations, Op. 41 More Details The Kates Friday 28 March 8pm St Brendan's Church, Bantry "You don't hear harmonies like this often, their blend of harmonies is life affirming" Tom Dunne, Something Happens and Newstalk. "Without a doubt, one of the WOW moments of Night & Day festival " Gignoise. Join The Kates for an unmissable acoustic "in the round" session of their own songs, interspersed with their solo tracks. More Details Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta Friday 25 April 8pm St Brendan's Church, Bantry Following their performance at last summer's Masters of Tradition, Séamus & Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta are returning to Bantry for a concert on 25th April. Born into a musical family in the Gaeltacht region of Connemara, siblings Séamus & Caoimhe are noted for their sean nós singing and their unique arrangements of both Irish and English language songs. Their Late Late Show performance in 2022 of the soulful lament Anach Cuain went viral around the world and in 2024 they won the RTÉ Folk Award for Best Emerging Artist. Séamus and Caoimhe are both accomplished multi-instrumentalists, Irish dancers and All-Ireland-winning performers who keep the Irish language and their heritage at the heart of all their musical endeavours. In 2023 they released their debut EP simply titled Séamus & Caoimhe. It is available to download on all digital platforms and was produced by Riverdance composer Bill Whelan. More Details RÓIS Friday 9 May 9.30pm St Brendan's Church, Bantry RÓIS is a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic artist from Fermanagh, whose songs breathe new life into a forgotten Ireland. Blending elements of folk, sean-nós, electronics, and jazz harmony, RÓIS’ genre-bending sound transports listeners to a different realm. With shapeshifting sets, no two performances are ever the same, as audiences accompany RÓIS into her sound world. Expect twists and turns of tempo and genre, and moments of sheer magic, as she conducts the energy of the room. This is a place where the ancient meets the new. RÓIS’ ethereal voice has been compared to the likes of Björk, Meredith Monk and Hatis Noit. It is a vocal style rooted in traditional sean-nós singing, as she summons the dead and forgotten, with ancient ‘keening' songs. With RÓIS’ performances the old and the new are enmeshed, alongside encapsulating visuals, in the hope of creating good art. Leading audiences into a realm of mysticism and creating a space for introspection, these live experiences are completely unique. More Details

March Newsletter Cork Cultural Companions

Book your place for FREE UCC Cultural Companions Tour HERE

 

March Newsletter East Cork Cultural Companions

 

March Newsletter for Bantry Cultural Companions

 

March Newsletter Mallow Cultural Companions

 

UCC Campus Cultural Companions Tour Tuesday 25th March

UCC Campus Tours 

Historical tour of the UCC Campus for Cork Cultural Companions
Meeting place: UCC Campus Donovan’s Road (Visitor Services North Wing Main Quadrangle) Noon Tuesday 25th March
Price: Free for Members Booking required. Please book HERE

Join a guided tour and become immersed in the rich history of University College Cork. UCC's campus is full of many interesting buildings and features. From the Lewis Glucksman Gallery in the Lower Grounds to the Stone Corridor of the Main Quadrangle to the Crawford Observatory, UCC is a great place to spend a few hours.

Book your place for FREE UCC Cultural Companions Tour HERE

St Patrick's Day Parade 17th March 1pm

 

The Parade

Cork St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Cork St. Patrick's Day Parade 2025 has chosen Building A Better World as it's theme.

Celebrating 2025 as the UN International Year of Co-operatives, groups participating are encouraged to include this them in their presentation on the day.

 

The Cork City St. Patrick's Day Parade is an annual pageant presented by the wonderful and varied communities who make up our 'beautiful city, so charming and pretty'. A vibrant and colourful display, Cork's parade features members of communities from all walks of life across the city - sporting groups to dance schools, new communities, our long-established brass bands, and special guests from around the world. 

  

  

The Parade takes place on 17th March at 1pm on the route below. 

If you can’t join us in Cork City on St. Patrick’s Day, watch our live-stream here from 12:45 Irish time. (link live when active)

You can also send your greetings to the Livestream MC - details to follow

Read along with our commentators: Parade Commentary (link live when active)

  

         

Access For All

Irish Sign Language interpretation will be provided near the NEW Grandstand location on PATRICK'S ST. near the stature of Fr. Matthew

The zone reserved for wheelchair users, less mobile visitors, and those who may need more space around them to enjoy the parade, will also be made available - details to follow.

Both of these areas are UNRESERVED

For those who might find it useful, AsIAm have developed a Social Story for a St Patricks' Day parade  - find it here: At A Parade

To see what the overall Cork St Patrick's Festival is like, view our 2024 brochure by clicking on the cover below.

Similar events and activities will appear on these pages as they are confirmed for 2025

Groups wishing to participate in future parades, or for general queries year-round, please email stpatricksfestival@corkcity.ie 

or phone +353 (0)21 492 4000 at any time of year.