Cork Harbour Festival
1 – 10 June 2024
Cork Harbour Festival is the largest annual event in Cork Harbour offering a week-long celebration of Ireland’s maritime culture. The festival features over 80 different events – taking place in Cork City as well as in 15 harbour towns and villages.
Founded in 2015, the festival celebrates Cork Harbour as a natural and cultural resource, with the communities and their stories at the heart of it. Throughout festival week there is a huge variety of events to dive into, from water activities to guided walks, open days to open sails, seafood tasters to seaweed foraging and so much more.
The 2024 celebrations include the flagship Ocean to City race on 8 June 2024. For more information on the challenge: oceantocity.com
The full festival programme will be announced closer to festival time. To receive the 2024 programme straight into your inbox, sign up here.
Our sincere thanks go to Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Fáilte Ireland and the Port of Cork, without whose financial backing the festival would not be possible.
Cork Harbour Festival is coordinated by Meitheal Mara, Cork’s Community Boatyard, and the Festival Committee.
Welcome to Cork Harbour Festival
Cork Harbour Festival Manager Joya Kuin talks about the unique beauty of the Harbour and how special the festival is to the community.
Selected as one of Europe’s Top 20 Art and Culture Festivals in 2018
And Top 36 Global Festivals in 2017
by FlightNetwork.com!
”The Festival: Taking place in the second largest natural harbor in the world, the Cork Harbour Festival is an active, exhilarating display of Ireland’s own maritime roots. Here, families gather to partake in everything from urban kayaking and mobile saunas, to yacht sailing along the crystalline waters of Cork Harbour. Oh, and did we mention seaweed foraging? Yes, that’s a thing.
What To Expect: Flip-flop wearers beware: the Cork Harbour Festival offers a wide range of outdoor activities, and you’ll want to dress appropriately. Walking enthusiasts can join any of the free guided walking tours, spooky ghost tours, or day excursions over to nearby Spike Island. Spectators, on the other hand, might find themselves drawn to the true Cork spectacle — “The Rebel Plunge” — a 3.8km downstream swim en route to Blackrock Village.”