How the stars aligned for Jazz Festival's foundation

Des O’Driscoll looks back on the strange set of circumstances that led to the founding of the festival in 1978.

YOU’D imagine that possessing little interest in jazz, and never having attended any music festival aren’t the best qualifications for setting up one of Europe’s top jazz festivals. But that didn’t stop Jim Mountjoy, the man who established Cork’s long-enduring event way back in 1978.