West Cork Music tops Arts funding list

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026 - 20:00

Des O’Driscoll

West Cork Music has topped the list of Cork organisations receiving funding from the Arts Council’s development programme.

The Bantry-based organisation which runs three annual festivals through the summer — Chamber Music Festival, Literary Festival, and Masters of Tradition — was awarded €510,000.

Nationally, a total of €72.3m was awarded by the Arts Council to 148 arts organisations, arts centres, and other projects. Organisations based in Co Cork will receive €4,107,690 in total.

Other major recipients in Cork include Cork Midsummer Festival (€497,000), the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras (€350,000), and Cork International Film Festival (€285,000).

Overall in Ireland, the Abbey Theatre will receive the largest amount at €9.5m, while Irish National Opera was awarded €5.53m. Other recipients in Munster include Waterford Spraoi (€450,000), and Dance Limerick (€294,000).

Minister for culture, communications and sport, Patrick O’Donovan said: “These awards support artists and organisations to realise ambitious creative work across all artforms, while ensuring that people of all ages and backgrounds have meaningful opportunities to engage with the arts in their everyday lives.”

This round of funding represents more than half of the Arts Council’s annual investment, with further awards for 2026 announced later, including allocations for disability access.

Fifteen organisations in Co Cork which received funding: