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Cork St Patrick’s Festival Five Day Celebration begins

Cork St Patrick’s Festival Five Day Celebration begins this Friday March 13th 

Organised by Cork City Council, the Cork St. Patrick’s Festival, which begins this Friday, is a fantastic five-day celebration of Irish music, culture and heritage. The festival which takes place all over Cork City will feature concerts, céilí dancing, music trails, traditional Irish music performances, family events and the much-loved St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Over 3600 participants will take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17 making it the largest ever St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cork. The Parade will welcome international groups including The McKinney High School Royal Pride Marching Band from Texas, the DC Everest Senior High Marching Band from Wisconsin and Batala, the international collection of Samba groups from the UK, France, Austria and America.

The parade will begin at 1pm at the junction of South Mall and Parnell Place, before it makes its way along South Mall and Grand Parade, then up St. Patrick’s Street to finish on Merchants Quay.

 

Local arts organisations Cork Community Art Link and Cork Puppetry Company and national arts organisation Spraoi, are bringing large floats to the Parade all which pay tribute to the festival theme ‘Marsh, Myth and Magic.

Standing 5 metres tall, Cork Community Artlink’s heron float is sure to wow the public as it wanders through the streets of Cork accompanied by a float of a large frog carrying a mystical market on its back. Participating in the Parade in collaboration with Cork Community Artlink are Brothers of Charity-Blackpool CAP, the National Learning Network, Cork Simon Community, UCC Drama, Pat Quinn and Gang and volunteers from all over Cork.

Cork Puppetry Company will flood Cork’s streets with folklore, bogland beasts, and musical mischief while Spraoi are bringing the notorious pirate Anne Bonny and her ship to Cork in search of the Lee Map Dragon which legend says crashed into the earth and formed the River Lee.

 

The Parade will be streamed live on www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie/parade  from 12.45pm on Tuesday March 17. If you would like a greeting to be read on air, please message the online MC via the Whatsapp number on the livestream.

 

The organisers have provided an Accessible Area for parade viewers who require these facilities - wheelchair users, elderly/ infirm, autistic and neurodiverse people who need more space around them. This space outside Dunnes Stores does not require registration but is restricted to 1 accompanying support person.

ISL services will be provided at the grandstand, which this year is situated near the Tourist Information Office on St. Patrick’s Street. Cork’s 96FM and C103 Presenters Simon Murdoch and Izzy Showbizzy will MC the Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

 

Information on road closures and diversions, bus re-routing and Park and Ride bus facilities will be posted on www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie , along with a full listing of festival events. Other events happening over the festive weekend include:

  • Irish Women in Harmony, St Peter’s, North Main Street, Friday March 13, 8pm
  • The Lee Sessions Trad Trail in Cork City Centre Pubs, Friday March 13 to Tuesday March 17
  • Cork Coffee Lates, Cork City, Friday March 13, 6pm to 9pm
  • Night Market on Cornmarket Street, Friday March 13, 5pm to 9pm
  • Playin' in the Park: a celebration of traditional street games, Bishop Lucey Park, Saturday March 14, 12pm to 2pm
  • Ceol Chorcaí, City Hall, McSwiney Quay, Saturday March 14, 7.30pm to 10pm
  • Tailteann Games: traditional games with a twist at Elizabeth Fort, Sunday March 15, 12pm to 3pm
  • Ceilí Mór, City Hall, McSwiney Quay, Sunday March 15, 2pm to 5pm
  • Seamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta, St. Peter’s, North Main Steet, Monday March 16, 8pm

Cork’s 96FM, C103 and the Echo are the media sponsors of the Cork St. Patrick’s Festival.

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