Kabin Studio king hits right note as he’s named Cork Person of the Year

A man who has mentored and recorded the work of young rappers and songwriters has been announced as Cork Person of the Year.

Garry McCarthy was given a standing ovation at the 33rd annual awards ceremony in The Metropole Hotel yesterday.

Joe Duffy, who stepped down from his role as RTÉ Liveline presenter last year, was named an ‘honorary Cork person’, while former Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay was inducted into the Cork Person of the Year hall of fame.

Mr McCarthy, who leads non-profit community music centre The Kabin Studio in Knocknaheeny, and who is known creatively as GMC, has been a key figure in the music industry for over 20 years.

The studio was the birthplace for hit song The Spark, which received more than 1.5bn views on TikTok and 9m views on YouTube. 

The track was performed by a group of children, many from a direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, together with others from the northside of Cork city who attend The Kabin.

Mr McCarthy has organised more that 2,500 music workshops through his GMCBeats and Song-in-a-Day projects. These initiatives provide an inclusive environment for young people to express themselves and gain experience with recording technology.

His work includes virtually mentoring international artists and composing the soundtrack for the award-winning film Christy.

“I’m shocked with this, especially with the amount of legends in this room,” Mr McCarthy said.

“I love working with the kids and now even the grandparents are rapping in Knocknaheeny. It’s like one big family up there,” .

He was chosen as the winner by the judges, the chief executives of Cork City Council and Cork County Council, Valerie O’Sullivan and Moira Murrell, and was presented with his award jointly by Lord Mayor of Cork Fergal Dennehy and Mayor of Co Cork Mary Linehan-Foley.

Meanwhile, The Dixies drummer Joe Mac, who is approaching his 90th birthday, was presented with a ‘supreme Cork’ award in recognition of his decades of contributions to Cork music.

This surprise presentation was made by previous Cork Person of the Year winner Shane Casey, aka Billy Murphy of The Young Offenders.

Joe Mac said he was “overwhelmed” by the honour. He proceeded to tell a few jokes and then said: “I have to sit down, I’m shagged.”