Cultural Heritage

Ireland’s cultural heritage can be traced back as far as 500 BC when the first Celts arrived from central Europe. The Irish language – which is still spoken today in parts of Cork – is based on the language spoken by Bronze Age Celts.

Over the centuries, Vikings from Scandinavia and Anglo Normans from France via England also came to these shores introducing their own traditions, language and way of life. The result, for modern Ireland is a rich and varied culture where the Celtic influence still predominates in our music, poetry, literature and dance – while the Viking influence still shapes our trade and commerce and inspires our entrepreneurial spirit.

While life in Cork in the 21st Century has all the vibrancy and industry of a modern, European city, scratch the surface lightly and you’ll find signs of its ancient culture alive and well. Traditional Irish music with its distinctive instruments – bodhrán, uilleann pipes, harp flute, fiddle and accordion – rings out of city pubs today much as it did from the great halls of ancient times.

And traditional Irish dance is almost certainly more popular now than it has been for generations as a result of the impact made by Riverdance on the world stage.

But it’s probably in the field of literature that Cork has always excelled. From the 7th to the 12th Century, Cork was a centre of learning and that tradition of scholarship persists today. Among the renowned poets and writers who were born and have lived in Cork over the past hundred years alone are: Daniel Corkery, author of Hidden Ireland; Seán O Faoláin, whose short stories charted the development of modern Ireland; Frank O’Connor, writer of poems, plays, short stories, essays and novellas; Seán O’Riordáin unarguably produced the most important poetry in the Irish language in the last 200 years, and Seán O’Tuama, Professor of Modern Irish at UCC and internationally reputed poet and dramatist.

Poets John Montague and Seán Lucy were hugely influential in the literary life of Cork in the final decades of the last century. Now, even in the 21st Century, Cork still has more than its quota of writers and poets producing excellent work in both Irish and English including such well-known names as, Michael Davitt, Liam de Paor, Gabriel Rosenstock, Tom McCarthy, Patrick Galvin, Mary Leland, Gerry Murphy, Greg Delanty and Patrick Cotter.