Cork festival’s Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition opens

Cork International Choral Festival is accepting entries from Irish composers for the 2026 Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition.

The competition, judged by a panel of experts and composers, will see the winner awarded the Seán Ó Riada Trophy and a cash prize donated by the Ó Ríada family.

The winner’s selected piece will be given its premiere performance by Chamber Choir Ireland at the festival’s gala concert at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral on May 1, 2026.

The Seán Ó Riada Competition was created in 1972 in recognition of the creative life and work of Seán Ó Riada, and while the format has evolved over the years, the focus has remained steadfast on bringing both traditional and new pieces of Irish music to life.

The current format focuses on new works from Irish composers, and has a novel approach of scores being entered under pseudonym to protect the identity of the composer.

Since the new format was introduced 14 years ago, 276 original compositions have been entered, which highlights the renewed interest in and healthy state of Irish composition.

Previous winners of the competition include Solfa Carlile, Rhona Clarke, Patrick Connolly, Frank Corcoran, Séamas de Barra, Eoghan Desmond, and Amanda Feery.

The competition is open to composers who were born in or reside in Ireland, with applications welcomed from both established and emerging composers.

The score should be an original work, written for a cappella choir, and up to five minutes in duration.

It should be in four parts, and the selected text may be original or existing, in the English or Irish language.

The deadline for entries to the competition has been set for December 5. 

Full information on the competition criteria is available on the festival’s website, with applications now being accepted via corkchoral.ie/sean-o-riada-composition-competition