Busking for Cork Penny Dinners; city streets to come alive with music on Saturday

Some two dozen or more musicians will gather in Cork city centre tomorrow to raise funds for Cork Penny Dinners, at a time of unprecedented demand for the charity’s services.

The Christmas Busking Fundraiser, which is organised by local musicians and TikTok sensations Dylan Brickley and Korey Power, will start at 10am outside Brown Thomas on Patrick Street and run throughout the day.

“We have so many musicians that are joining in, well over 20 musicians, we were supposed to start at 11am but with each act playing about 20 minutes, we have so many acts we’ve had to start early,” Mr Brickley told The Echo. 

“Myself and Korey Power have organised the fundraiser for Penny Dinners, and last year we did it but because the weather was so bad we only got to do two hours, but in that time we raised €1,350.

“Hopefully this year now we’ll get the day out of it and raise a nice bit of money for such a good cause.

“We usually get a lot of big crowds coming in and supporting us at the weekends, so hopefully between us we’ll get a good bit of support.”

Some big names in the Cork music scene are expected to play a part, with the full line-up expected to be announced later this week, with Roy Buckley, Myles Gaffney, Gary McCarthy’s Kabin Studios already confirmed.

Cork Penny Dinners is Cork’s oldest charity, tracing its roots back to a soup kitchen in Famine times, and it relies entirely on donations, and it currently prepares in excess of one thousand meals every single day.

The charity, which is located on Little Hanover Street, has seen a sharp rise in demand for its services in recent weeks, with the cost of living crisis worsening significantly for many people during the current cold snap. 

Caitríona Twomey, Penny Dinners’ co-ordinator, says the number one rule in Penny Dinners is that it never judges anyone coming to its door, and everyone is welcomed, treated with respect, and given a hot, nourishing meal.