All About Cork: Comhaltas na Dúglaise help launch Munster Fleadh

It has been a busy few weeks for Comhaltas na Dúglaise as they performed at many events over the past month.

One of their key performances took place during Seachtain na Gaeilge.

A large group of musicians played for the Focus Ireland Big Busk at Douglas Village Shopping Centre.

Another group played and danced at the welcome home for St Patrick’s Day festival at Cork Airport.

The following night the Senior Grúpa (Over 18) performed at the Munster Fleadh Cheoil fundraising concert ‘Ceol Chorcaí’ at Cork City Hall.

Other groups played at schools and St Lukes Home. A contingent walked and played in the Douglas St Patrick’s Day Parade.

The Under 18 Grúpa gave a lovely performance of traditional music, dancing and singing at the Carrigaline Men’s Shed Concert at the Carrigaline Court Hotel.

For the past few weeks the branch has been giving extra classes to those preparing for the SCT |(Scrúdú Ceol Tíre) exams which will be held on the second weekend of April at Douglas and for the County Fleadh Cheoil which takes place on the last weekend of April in Ballincollig.

They were also involved in the launch of the Munster Fleadh.

The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Dan Boyle, who addressed the attendance as Gaeilge, was the guest speaker at the launch of the Munster Fleadh Cheoil at the Munster Technology University on Thursday last.

Ger O’Driscoll, chairman of the Munster Fleadh and Leas Cathaoirleach of Comhaltas na Dúglaise presided, he outlined that there would be 3,000 competitors from all over Munster competing and will attract 15,000 visitors to the city.

Mr O’Driscoll thanked the sponsors, MTU for hosting the event and opening up their campus where all the competitions for the Munster Fleadh Cheoil will be held.

In welcoming the Lord Mayor, Cllr Dan Boyle, he thanked the City Council for their sponsorship and said the heart of the Fleadh will be in the city centre.

He said that the city will be transformed into a vibrant hub of ceol agus craic over the course of the week-long celebration from July 12 to 19.

He thanked Cork Airport for their sponsorship and all the Comhaltas branches and the organising committee for their continued support and was looking forward to another successful Munster Fleadh Cheoil in Cork.

Other speakers were Paul Gallagher MTU and Tadhg Ó Maolcatha, chairman Munster Council, Comhaltas.

A group of young musicians from Comhaltas na Dúglaise played a great selection of traditional Irish music at the event.

The Munster Fleadh Cheoil takes place at Cork city from Saturday, July 12, until Saturday, July 19.

The competitions will be held at MTU, Bishopstown, on Thursday 17, Friday 18, and Saturday 19.

Horgan: Planning for primary care centre approved

Labour Party Councillor Peter Horgan has said that that planning permission for the new Primary Care Centre for Douglas has been approved.

In a statement he said: “Here’s the latest update I received from the HSE on it on.” The correspondence from the HSE regarding the new centre states:

“The Health Service Executive has been requested to reply directly to you in the context of the above representation, (regarding update on the centre) which you submitted for response.

“It is intended that the Primary Care Centre in Douglas will be delivered via the HSE operational lease mechanism.

“Following a process where submissions were requested from private operators for the development of a Douglas Primary Care Centre in the area, a preferred solution was identified and, following approval by the board of the HSE, a letter of intent was issued to the private operators in 2023.

“There has been no expenditure by the HSE to date. Under the HSE Operational Lease Mechanism, the cost of building the primary care centre is borne by the private operator and the HSE agrees to pay a quarterly rent and service charge to the private operator for a 25 year lease period to provide and maintain the Primary Care Centre which is laid out and finished to the requirements of the HSE.

“This arrangement is conditional on GPs also operating form the primary care centre, this onus is on the private operator to ensure the presence of GPs.

“The private operator has confirmed to the HSE that an application for planning permission for the primary care centre in Douglas was lodged with Cork City Council.

“The private sector is currently responding to a request for further information in relation to this application.”

Arts event on tomorrow

Cork City Council Cork City Council’s Arts Office is set to host a free event at Douglas Community Centre tomorrow, Tuesday, April 8 at 10am.

The event, titled ‘Developing Partnerships and Collaborations for Creative Community Projects’ forms part of the council’s 2025 Creative Communities Roadshow series. It has upcoming events in Bishopstown, Glanmire and The Glen also.

It will consist of short talks and presentations, as well as a ‘creative taster’ for attendees on developing manifestos for community-led projects, which will be run by artists Marilyn Lennon and Seán Taylor.

Attendees can reserve tickets for the event free of charge on Eventbrite.ie.

The event will discuss funding opportunities that are available from the Council’s Arts Office for creatives in Cork, through a presentation delivered by Siobhán Clancy and Louise Tangney.

There will also be an insight into the creative work of local community group, Douglas Young atHeart, in a talk from its founder Phil Goodman.

The group was set up by Ms Goodman in 2001 to “help alleviate isolation and loneliness in older people.” It is based in Douglas village with members from surrounding areas also, and weekly events are advertised on their website.

The event is set to last for three hours, with breaks for discussion in between.

More information about the event can be found on the Arts Office website, at www.corkcity.ie.

Walking tour of St Finbarr’s

Former Lord Mayor and current independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has restarted his free historical walking tours during April. “Having an opportunity to show people around the heritage of Cork city has always been an important job of work for me,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“I have pursued more research than ever in recent years. As more and more old newspapers and books are digitised it has allowed greater access to material and hence more material to create historical walking trails of some of Cork’s most historical suburbs and heritage set pieces.

“I am also trying to sharpen the tours I have and to create new ones in a different suburb. The four areas I am re-starting with for the 2025 all have their own unique sense of place, their own cultural and built heritage, their own historic angles, some really interesting ‘set pieces’ and add their own stories to how the city as a whole came into being. They also connect to the upcoming 2025 Cork Lifelong Learning Festival and its motto of Investigate, Participate and Celebrate,” concluded Cllr McCarthy.

Full details of Kieran’s April tours are:

Saturday, April 26: The Cork City Workhouse Tour: Learn about Cork City’s workhouse created for 2,000 impoverished people in 1841, meet just inside the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 1pm.

Sunday, April 27: Fitzgerald’s Park: The People’s Park Tour, from stories on the Mardyke to the Cork International Exhibition, meet at the band stand, 1pm. All tours are free, two hours, and no booking is required.

Have Douglas news to share? Contact Rory.noonan@theecho.ie