Christmas lights switched on in Cork city

Cork city lit up with energy-efficient Christmas lights on Thursday evening as Patrick Street came aglow for the festive season.

Patrick Street along with Oliver Plunkett Street, Tuckey St, and Grand Parade has lit up, with a number of Christmas trees also dotted around the city centre.

In the coming days, almost seven kilometres of energy-efficient LED Christmas lights will be switched on at Opera Lane, Academy Street, Paul St, French Church Street and Carey’s Lane by Cork City Council, Cork Business Association (CBA) working with traders, community associations and independent outlets.

A total of 60 glittering Christmas trees have also been installed across the city centre, suburbs, towns and villages and the much-loved crib will also return to the Lough in the coming weeks.

Also returning to Cork city this festive season is the popular GLOW A Cork Christmas Celebration at Bishop Lucey Park.

This story of the 12 Days of Christmas will be brought to life over four weekends in the run-up to Christmas with the return of drummers, dancers, hula-hoops, and golden egg-laying geese. The iconic ferris wheel will also return to Grand Parade.

GLOW’s opening hours will be from 4pm to 8pm on November 25 to November 27, December 2 to December 4, December 9 to December 11 and December 18 to December 18.

The preparations for Cork’s Christmas celebration have been underway since the beginning of November with six Cork City Council staff members and a crew of 17 electricians undertaking the task of lighting the streets of Cork.

Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Deirdre Forde said: “Cork is a very special place at Christmas, with choral performances, the famous 30-metre ferris wheel and illuminations in Bishop Lucey Park, there is so much to see and do this year at GLOW.

I encourage everyone to explore the wonderful Christmas displays dotted around our great city and remember to support Cork businesses and shop locally this Christmas.

Meanwhile, City Hall will host the 60th Lord Mayor’s Gala Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 3.

The concert will feature Majella Cullagh, Karen Underwood and Ryan Morgan, with Cork Concert Orchestra conducted by Tom Crowley, Cór Cois Abhann, and The Montfort College of Performing Arts.

Tickets are available from ProMusica on Oliver Plunkett Street or go online to www.everymancork.com.