All ages event | Wheelchair accessible

Join Ellen Alden for a lively talk as she presents the inspiration and research behind her historical fiction novel, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke.

“You never know what you’ll find in your attic” – Ellen was fortunate to find American Civil War letters from her Irish Immigrant great, great grandfather to his wife and children living in Massachusetts. In tracing Florence Burke’s life, Ellen discovered that he was a Great Famine survivor originally from West Cork. Come hear about the Burke’s extraordinary journey to America, and their struggles to survive in their newly adopted country.

All ages event

Mitchelstown Writers read from their own work including stories, poetry and memoir. There will also be a musical interlude.

Mitchelstown Writers meet in Mitchelstown Library on Fridays from 10:30 to 12:30pm. The group has published two Anthologies called ‘Mitchelstown Miscellany’ and ‘Another Mitchelstown Miscellany’ and a number of the group have had stories and poems published in ‘From The Well’ series of short stories, ‘Around The Farm Gate’, ‘Then There Was Light’, ‘The Holly Bough’, ‘Woman’s Way’ and ‘The Avondhu’.

All ages event | Wheelchair accessible

Stories are central to our lives and to every culture in the world. Whether surrounded by polar wastes or tropical rainforests, people everywhere have always dramatised their hopes, joys, fears and sorrows in the form of stories, told, written and sung… A team of students from Cork School of Music’s drama degree course will perform stories from the Cherokee, the South African, the Irish and the Eastern European traditions.

All ages event

The evening will start at 5p.m. with a reception and launch at the St. Michael’s Centre on South Main Street. This will be followed by a talk on local history by Clare McCutcheon.

The trail will move on to Bandon Library at 6pm where there will be an exhibition of photographs by local photographer Dan Holland around the themes of local people and landmarks. Well-known local tenor Michael Lawlor will then treat people to a number of the wonderful songs of Percy French.

The trail will next move to the CETB Adult Education Centre at 6.45pm for a performance by the High Hopes Choir which is made up of people affected by homelessness. This amazing choir has previously performed for President Higgins and at the European Parliament.

At 7.15pm, transport will be available to take people on the short journey from the Adult Education Centre to the next venue on the trail, The West Cork Heritage Centre. Rae McKinlay will conjure images and emotions with her storytelling in this most atmospheric of venues.

The final leg of the Bandon Culture Trail 2017 will see people moving up North Main Street to the Town Hall at 8.30pm for the centrepiece of the evening: two hours of music, performance and delicious ethnic food to the backdrop of an exhibition of art work from the Bandon Day Care Centre.

All ages event | Wheelchair accessible

Illustrated Perspectives | 5 – 10pm | www.facebook.com/hazelhurleydesign
Hazel Hurley, an artist from Clonakilty, will be creating a live illustration on the windows of the top floor of County Hall, celebrating the landmarks which can be seen and the culture of Cork county, as well as inviting Culture night goers to share stories and experiences of the landscape below to add to the illustration.

Bernadette Gallagher, Poetry and Filology Jazz Trio | 8 – 9pm | www.johnphilipmurray.com | www.facebook.com/JohnPhilipMurrayMusic

Bernadette Gallagher will read some of her recent poems, interspersed with tunes by jazz trio, Filology: David O’Connor, Guitar; John Philip Murray, Drums; and Pat Barrett, Bass.

There is a well-established tradition of words and music being performed as a complement to one another. Jazz music is defined by improvisation; the sense that something unexpected may arise from a melodic theme which suggests variations to the soloists who then improvise on that theme, finally closing out the tune with a return to the original idea. Short poems, in this instance, punctuate the melodies, adding further scope for chance to suggest new directions.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa | 9pm | Irish Language event supported by Oireachtas na Gaeilge | www.doireannnighriofa.com| Twitter: @DoireannNiG
Ná caill léitheoireacht ó Doireann Ní Ghríofa, scríbhneoir dátheangach a dhéanann iniúchadh ar na téamaí de breithe, bás, dúil, agus teaghlachas ina leabhair . Scríobhann sí “le cineáltas agus fiosracht daingean” (Poetry Magazine, Chicago) agus i measc a cuid dámhachtainí tá Duais Rooney do Litríocht Éireannach agus an Gradam Michael Hartnett.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa is a bilingual writer whose books explore birth, death, desire, and domesticity. She frequently participates in cross-disciplinary collaborations, fusing poetry with film, dance, music, and visual art.  She writes “with tenderness and unflinching curiosity” (Poetry Magazine, Chicago)​.

Paula Meehan (Ireland Professor of Poetry) awarded Doireann the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary 2014-2015. She has also been awarded The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, The Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize, and The Wigtown Award for Gaelic Poetry in translation (national poetry prize of Scotland). Three of her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (USA).

Doireann’s publications include three Irish language collections Résheoid, Dúlasair, and Oighear (all published by Coiscéim), the pamphlet A Hummingbird, your Heart (Smithereens Press) and Clasp (Dedalus Press, 2015) whose “poems excel in their consideration of motherhood” (Poetry Magazine). Her poems appear regularly in literary journals internationally, and her writing is frequently broadcast on RTE Radio One. In 2016, she was selected as one of Poetry Ireland Review’s ‘Rising Generation’ of Irish poets.

This event is supported by Oireachtas na Gaeilge, Foras na Gaeilge and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Wheelchair accessible | Ages 16+ | Workshops at 5:50, 6:30 & 7:30pm | Booking required: Please email culturenightcorkcounty@gmail.com with your preferred time

If you’ve ever wanted to write a diary but weren’t sure how to start, or keep going, now’s your chance. Memoirist Alice Carey, author of From Manhattan to West Cork: Alice’s Adventures in Ireland, will be conducting half-hour workshops exploring the art of diary writing, what it is and isn’t, famous and not-so- famous people who’ve kept them, and what works and doesn’t in creating one’s own. Buoyed by fellow participants you’ll write an entry. Some will be read aloud and we’ll all end up a step ahead on one of the most exciting writing forms everyone can master.

Alice Carey started her first diary at age ten. Writing daily ever since, she has three books, several plays and numerous essays and articles to her credit. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, she volunteered for Gay Men’s Health Crisis – work that changed her life. She’s made a living as a waitress, substitute teacher, actress and model. She blogs for Huffington Post, and in 2016 she made her film debut in The Surf Report. Alice recently became a fashion commentator and model featured in the fashion blog and books Advanced Style and Advanced Style – Older & Wiser. Her Memoir, I’ll Know It When I See It, was published in the US in 2003. Her memoir, Manhattan to West Cork: Alice’s Adventures in Ireland, was published by Collins Press in 2016.

County Hall is delighted to host a jam-packed evening of Culture Night events. Find locally made treasures at the Cork Craft & Design Market; explore diary writing in workshops with memoirist Alice Carey; delight kids and kids at heart with Dowtcha Puppets’ Listen Janey Mac, Arran Towers’ The Tallest Smallest Circus Show, and balloon art from Aaron the Balloon Man; chill out to jazz trio Filology with poet Bernadette Gallagher; and enjoy readings from award-winning bilingual poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa while artist Hazel Hurley illustrates your view from the 17th floor.

All ages event

Fresh from organising their first festival, Mallow Arts Collective, will present Cultural Cafes – a unique music, song & poetry presentation in cafes open 6pm-8pm especially for the night – and the Culture Night Concert in St. James at 8:30pm.

All ages events | partially wheelchair accessible

An Evening of Music, Song, and Poetry Reading performed by members of Fermoy Active Retirement Group, Fermoy Men’s Club and Market Place Poetry and Performing Arts.

Music performed by Pat O’Connor, Mo O’Connor, Tim Sheehan and Cross Quays, Singers, Fermoy Active Retirement Group Choir, Fermoy Men’s Club Singers, Mairead Scanlan, Carmel O’Connor, John O’Mahony, and Mary Higgins. Poetry read by Olive Corcoran, Ita Dempsey, Joan Ensko, Sheila Hazelwood, Kieran Moran, Pat O’Connor, Paddy Byrne, Mo O’Connor, Michael Dunne, Emmet Cronin and Maria Wood. M.C. for the night is Michael Dunne.

Market Place Poetry and Performing Arts Group meet every 2nd Friday in Elbow Lane Inn. They have visiting Poet’s and Workshops from Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Mallow. Provide a good amenity for any age Group and like to encourage new members to join.

Fermoy Active Retirement Group meets 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month in Fermoy Community Youth Center at 2.30. We have guest speakers at our twice monthly meetings. We run outings to places of interest, shows, theatre, cinema, and holidays. We run language, exercise, and art classes. We play Kurling twice a month. New members always welcome.

All ages event | Wheelchair accessible

Come meet author Ellen B. Alden and local historian John L. O’Sullivan.

In an extraordinary act of fate, Ellen met John in Ballinhassig, over 5 years ago. She was yet another American researching her Irish roots…but John took the time to help her learn more about the Great Famine and the history of Ballinhassig in the 19th century. Although Ellen later discovered her family was from West Cork, she fell in love with the quaint village of Ballinhassig and chose to use it in her historical fiction novel, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke. Ellen will be signing books and chatting with her Ballinhassig friends. All are welcome to this event!