Sleep soundly: John O'Brien to play his Midsummer lullaby at locations around Cork 

Lullaby for the City will have the composer and his mini-orchestra performing the soothing piece for free in outdoor locations as part of Cork Midsummer Festival 

John O’Brien, Lullaby for the City, Cork Midsummer Festival, Picture Clare Keogh

John O’Brien is used to being busy. The musical multi-hyphenate is a well-known presence on the Cork live performance scene, composing, directing and conducting opera and musical theatre productions in the city and beyond. So when everything stopped dead last year due to lockdown, it was a huge shock to the system.

“It has been a such a crazy time for everybody. For artists, it has been particularly cruel with everything being cancelled. There was a long time of not being able to make anything. Even if you had the resources to create, the headspace wasn’t right for it, it was very difficult. Even people who have kept their jobs, it has been very stressful, spending all day on Zoom, and all the extra issues that brings,” he says.