Grin and Bere it: West Cork island enjoys its very own arts festival
Mary K Sullivan is one of the organisers of Bere Island Arts Festival.
Few people have embraced island life with as much enthusiasm as Mary K Sullivan. Since moving to Bere Island, Co Cork from her native Kealkil over thirty years ago, she has - with her husband Mike - fished for shrimps for a living, and run a successful restaurant and marine business. Along the way, as they reared their family, she somehow found time to complete a degree in art.
Given her work ethic, it is no surprise that Sullivan has also - along with Caitriona Hanley, of Wild Atlantic Glamping, and Pauline Hanley, Principal of Beara Community School - helped found the island’s first arts festival. Bere Island Arts Festival runs from Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th September, and will feature appearances by film director Neil Jordan, writers Dónal Ryan and Annemarie Ní Churreáin, and musicians Máirtín O’Connor, Zoe Conway and Dónal Lunny.
