Organised by Cork City Council, the Cork St. Patrick’s Festival will take place from March 15 to March 18, as the city celebrates its music, culture and tradition in style for St Patrick’s Day. 

The Frank and Walters have been announced by Cork City Council as the Grand Marshal of the 2024 Parade.

Founded in Cork in the early 1990’s, The Frank and Walters are an acclaimed Cork based- band that have achieved international success with their classical Indie hits, charting both inside and outside of Ireland. The groups longevity and the enduring popularity of their music especially the song “After All” makes them one of Ireland’s best loved and most recognisable alternative Indie Irish bands. The band members are – lead vocals & bass Paul Linehan, drums Ashley Keating, lead guitar Rory Murphy and on keyboards Cian Corbett.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy said:

‘I am delighted that the iconic Cork band The Frank and Walters are the Grand Marshal of the Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is Pure Imagination and I invite those participating to explore the magic, wonder, colours and the world of dreams of Cork, all in a sense of togetherness. Our parade will be a celebration of life in Cork and our city of welcomes, with our traditional sporting and dance groups alongside new communities that have made our city their home.’

The Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on March 17 at 1pm, on the familiar route from South Mall to Merchants Quay. The Parade will include over 3000 participants, performance showpieces from professional art groups Cork Puppetry Company and Spraoi, and marching bands and groups from America, United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland. The Knights of Columbus Pipes and Drums Group will, for the third time, be repeating their amazing transatlantic double – marching in the New York Parade on March 16 before flying to Cork to take part in the Cork Parade on St Patrick’s Day.

The four-day festival will showcase a new specially-programmed range of events organised by Cork City Council in collaboration with venues and organisations in the city, supported by Fáilte Ireland, in Triskel Christchurch, City Hall and Elizabeth Fort: 

• Songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Paul Noonan who is best known as the frontman of the Irish group Bell X1 will perform in Triskel Arts Centre on Friday March 15, and up-and-coming Kingfishr appear there on the 16. 
• Organised by Cork Folk Festival, a free Afternoon Céilí Mór will take place from 3pm to 6pm in City Hall on Saturday March 16. Acclaimed musicians from the Cork Trad Trio will perform traditional Irish music as dancers are guided with the help of experienced dancers on the floor – no experience necessary. 
• Presented by Circus Factory, an afternoon programme of Circus High Jinks, towering aerial acrobatics and fire juggling on a tightwire will take over Elizabeth Fort on Saturday March 16, with a Circus Disco included to give everyone a chance to have a go (not with the fire!). This event is also free, but booking is advised.

Also taking place as part of the Cork St. Patrick’s Festival are trad music performances from the Lee Sessions, live music, comedy events, guided tours and family friendly events across the city. The full programme of events is on www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie. Some events do require prebooking but most are free.

Friends and family unable to be in Cork on the day can view the parade via the livestream, which is viewable via the webpage for the parade. In the days leading up to the festival, the Cork St. Patricks Festival’s Social Media pages will also carry lots of information on the parade and other events over festival weekend, while printed brochures will be available in Cork City Library branches, and around the city centre. 

See www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie for further details of the Cork City St. Patrick’s Festival.

Cork St. Patricks Festival’s Facebook page is: facebook.com/corkstpatricksfestival

RED FM and the Echo are the media sponsors of the Cork St. Patrick’s Festival

Notes

Cork City Council is part of the Failte Ireland St. Patrick’s Regional Festival Scheme, supporting 6 regional festivals to offer quality, high impact events for domestic and international audiences, while also supporting the local night-time and creative economy. 

The Circus High Jinks is presented by Circus Factory and Cork St Patrick’s Festival, supported by Cork City Council and Failte Ireland.

The Afternoon Céilí Mór is organised by Cork Folk Festival, in association with Cork St. Patrick’s Festival, supported by Fáilte Ireland.

Paul Noonan and Kingfishr perform at Triskel Arts Centre as part of the Cork St Patrick’s Festival, supported by Fáilte Ireland.