Discovering Cork’s Cultural Hidden Gems
Over its many years, both Cork City and County have undoubtedly nurtured a wealth of creative minds, informing all those who have had the pleasure of visiting it of the region’s artistic merit and cultural vibrancy. Boasting a variety of famous creative names such as Frank O’Connor, Seán Ó Faoláin and Cillian Murphy, it is evident that the artistic nature of the county knows no bounds, as there is a wealth of cultural activities and events to be found here each year.
Shaped by its long standing Celtic heritage, the city finds itself home to an abundance of theatrical venues such as The Granary, The Everyman Palace Theatre and Cork Opera House which has existed, albeit in many varying forms, since 1852. It is this pervasive nature of theatre that thrives within Cork City that in turn nourishes local performance, giving voice to the county’s aspiring actors and directors, providing a platform through which to perform well known dramas, as well as displaying a uniquely ‘Corkonian’ narrative.
In a similar way, the county has always maintained an enduring tradition with the spoken word, fostering famous poetic talent such as Patrick Galvin and Seán Ó Ríordáin. This can be seen today as the city continues to play host to a wealth of smaller literary and theatrical events such as fiction readings and poetry performances, some of which can be found staged in pubs littered throughout the city. Examples of such events include; Fiction at The Friary in The Friary on Shandon Street, various O’Bheál events in The Long Valley on Winthrop Street and Modwords in The Poor Relation on Parnell Place, all of which provide an opportunity for budding local poets and authors to showcase their latest works, unleashing their creative talent.
Furthermore, Cork is a county that is rich in artistic merit in its most traditional sense, as the city has always boasted an array of art galleries and exhibitions, displaying work by both local and widely known artists. The Crawford Art Gallery which was established in 1884 is the city’s oldest and most famous gallery, whilst other smaller installations include the Lavit Gallery on Father Matthew Street and the Lewis Glucksman Gallery here in UCC. Today, there are many creative centres to be found throughout the inner city which are specifically dedicated to the promotion of various visual artistic practices – an example of which being the Triskel Arts Centre which primarily focuses on modern art and contemporary film, and The National Sculpture Factory which is situated along Albert road and provides Cork artists with a suitable workspace in which to realise their individual creative endeavours.
Historically, Cork has always played host to a variety of different cultural festivals such as the annual Cork Film Festival, Indie Cork which champions the creativity of the county’s independent filmmakers and musicians, as well as the internationally renowned Cork Jazz Festival which once a year sees the city overrun with lively jazz bands and music enthusiasts and has been taking place at the end of October for the last 40 years. As such, it is evident that both Cork City and County can be considered a hive of cultural activity, as the region’s wide variety of creative activities and cultural events serve to promote the city as one of great artistic vibrancy, therefore proving itself to be a culturally relevant county, both past and present.
For further information regarding upcoming events and festivals, some helpful websites include: https://purecork.ie
https://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/eventguide/
By Jessica O’Connor
Windfall 