Cork Folk Festival honoured by mayor as new book 'reels down the years' 

The Lord Mayor of Cork Dan Boyle recently hosted a civic reception for the committee and members of the Cork Folk Festival.

A mainstay of Cork’s music scene, last year the festival celebrated its 45th anniversary, marking its birthday with the publication of Cork Folk Festival 1979-2024 — Reeling Down the Years, written by festival co-organiser William Hammond.

The book offers a detailed account of the folk festival’s journey through the decades, documenting its 1,126 artists, 350 groups, and bands, and its enduring role in shaping Cork’s cultural life.

Mr Boyle, a Green Party councillor, said that it had been a great privilege to afford the festival members a civic reception.

Delighted

He said: “I was delighted to welcome them to City Hall: 45 years is an incredible achieve-ment and worth acknowledging. It’s an important festival in the series of festivals the city holds every year.”

“The people involved in organising the festival, and the content of the festival every year, are very much a part of what Cork is and who we are, and how, culturally, we want to express ourselves to the world, so I was delighted to acknowledge the musicians and the artists involved in the folk festival.”

In his address to the civic reception, Mr Boyle also praised the quality, value, and attention to detail of Mr Hammond’s book, which includes an index cataloguing every performance at the festival since 1979, and which features a chapter dedicated to each festival year.

The book is a treat for music lovers and offers a discography that spans recordings from Cork’s vibrant folk scene dating back to 1929.

The team behind Cork Folk Festival said it had been a great honour to be invited to the council chambers for the civic reception.

Invited guests included folk singers Jimmy Crowley, Noel Shine, Mary Greene, Mick Daly and poet Gerry Murphy.

Festival chairman Jim Walsh thanked the lord mayor and Cork City Council for their continuing support for the festival.

Cork Folk Festival 1979-2024 — Reeling Down The Years, by William Hammond, is on sale in Waterstones Cork.