CORK’S LARGEST EVER ST. PATRICK’S FESTIVAL LAUNCHED
Aiming to bring over 100,000 people into Cork City over four days, the festival includes activities from currach racing to concerts by Jamie Lawson and the RTE Concert Orchestra, joining the traditional community based parade and the Barry’s Tea Market, to give the most extensive programme of events ever seen in Cork.Joined by partners from across Cork’s cultural landscape, the St. Patrick’s Festival will also see performances by the RTE Concert Orchestra, the Kilfenora Céilí Band and ‘This Is How we Fly’ at Cork’s Opera House. Cork Institute Of Technology’s School of Music will be premiering Pierre O’Reilly’s ‘Patrick – The Story’. This ground-breaking multi-media re-imagining of the classic Patrick tale will be performed for the first time and features the talents of Oscar-nominated animator Nicky Phelan, renowned soprano Cara O’Sullivan and a 90-strong orchestra and choir.
The old Cork Airport Teminal will be home to ‘Terminal Convention’, an internationally significant art, music and discursive event featuring some of the world’s leading and emerging international artists, musicians and theorists. From the Crawford Art Gallery to the Blackrock Observatory, from the Lifetime Lab to the Everyman Palace, Cork’s cultural venues will be putting on a show for Corkonians and tourists alike over the four day festival.
Lord Mayor of Cork, Michael O’Connell, speaking at the launch of this year’s programme, said that this year’s festival was all about making Cork City as accessible as possible. “With four days of activities taking place throughout the city, free workshops, free music performances, free heritage walks and many other activities, Cork City Council, together with our partners at Cork Airport and Barry’s Tea, has developed the most extensive programme of events that Cork has ever seen.”
Tim Lucey, Cork City Manager, said that Cork’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the biggest community parade in Ireland. “Our goal with the St. Patrick’s Festival is to make it as accessible as possible. Cork’s parade, Ireland’s largest community parade, is aimed at getting people involved in the celebration. Together with our sponsors, Cork City Council has worked to develop a programme of events that showcases Cork’s cultural and social attractions. We’ve worked hard to develop a programme that is as accessible as possible and delivers something for everyone.”