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Our Story
Our History
Guided by a consistent artistic vision, West Cork Music strives to provide access to world-class music, literature, and the arts on the edge of Europe; opportunities for learning, from beginner to elite levels; and memorable creative and inspiring experiences for audiences and artists against the spectacular backdrop of Bantry Bay.
1995 | From cows to concerts
Francis Humphrys - farmer and founder of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival - was playing chamber music to his cows on the Sheep's Head peninsula. In search of more appreciative audiences, and with great support, he moved the music to Bantry House. The small concert series quickly led to the first West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
1998 | Words after music
Words were always part of the WCM story - Seamus Heaney read at the very first Chamber Music Festival. But the West Cork Literary Festival emerged from the Chamber's fringe to take centre stage in 1998, soon establishing a reputation as a stellar Irish festival in its own right.
2001 | A turn to trad
WCM's Masters of Tradition Festival sprang from a magical late-night concert at the Chamber Festival, where Clare fiddler Martin Hayes and Denis Cahill wowed audiences with the highest standard of Irish traditional music.
Martin had inadvertently played his way into the role of Artistic Director of West Cork Music's third festival - Masters of Tradition - an annual celebration of the very best of musical traditions from Ireland and beyond.
2025 | A growing concert series
West Cork Music festivals continue to innovate and delight audiences across 23 days each summer. And now, a growing concert series is helping to satisify West Cork's appetite for the arts year-round.
An imaginative programme that showcases classical music, the best of contemporary trad, and Irish singer-songwriters reflects West Cork Music's steadfast commitment to artistic excellence, and its great ambitions for the future...
Our Future
West Cork Music is finalising designs for its own world-class arts venue and a dedicated education hub in the heart of Bantry - a vision 30 years in the making. Together they will form a permanent home for the arts, championing local, Irish, and international talent year-round.
Partners & Sponsors
Our West Cork Music Festivals
Join us, across six glorious weeks each summer, as West Cork Music celebrates the best of chamber music, literature, and traditional Irish music through its world-class festivals at the edge of Europe.
