St Fin Barre’s: Cork cathedral rolls out literary readings and organ recitals

The beautiful cathedral is to host a series of readings and music events over the nex few weeks 

Orla O’Byrne at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork. Picture: Chani Anderson

Music, literature, heritage and late openings are on the menu at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork for the month of August. 

Thanks to the After Hours at the Museum Scheme, an initiative of the Department of Culture, Cork’s iconic cathedral applied to the scheme for funding, allowing it to host cultural events after normal operating hours.

Cathedral curator Orla O’Byrne says that while lunchtime organ recitals will continue as usual at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, she was able to secure funding to put on a series of readings which are called 'I’ll be Your Mirror'. They will take place every Friday in August from 6pm-7pm. 

This spoken word series brings together writers in curated pairings that complement one another through different styles, perspectives and generations. The readings are all free of charge.

On August 7, Judy Kravis and Bláithín MacDonnell will present their readings under the heading of 'Storytelling and the Land'. Kravis is basing her contribution on her recent publication entitled How to Talk to the Inspector.

“It’s all about the relationship Judy has with her land in Inniscarra,” says O’Byrne. “She has really funny quirky insights about how to deal with your bit of land. 

St Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork will host paired readings involving poet Gerry Murphy and other figures.

"Bláithín MacDonnell is actually a visual artist who has started writing. She has a unique way of delivering her texts which she kind of performs. She also writes about the land.” 

Sarah Long and Sonya Keogh will read from their work under the heading, 'Other Perspectives', on August 14. Long is an artist and writer based at Backwater Artists’ Group. Her focus is on female archetypes, the politics of representation, nationhood and myth through the lens of feminism.

Sonya Keogh, a former opera singer, is “more mature” than Long. “I felt her scenes really worked with Sarah’s writing. They circle around the same kind of themes so they mirror each other very well. 

"They both write about the experiences of being a girl and of being a woman. They have different approaches.” 

Young people will be represented at the cathedral on August 21 by four teenagers from Graffiti Theatre Club’s Write Club in partnership with Fighting Words, which promotes creativity and writing nationwide.

O’Byrne praises Ann-Marie O’Callaghan who organises the Graffiti group. “The quality of the young people’s writing is amazing. They’re so creative. They don’t get much opportunity to be heard. 

"Instead of just two writers mirroring each other, I have chosen four. There’s safety in numbers when you’re a bit younger and less experienced. They write poetry and prose and they are so enthusiastic.”

Cork poets Gerry Murphy and Molly Twomey.

Poets Gerry Murphy and Molly Twomey will read from their work on August 28. “They have read before. They might be something of chalk and cheese but they work really well together. Molly writes beautiful poetry as can be seen in the publication last year of Chic to be Sad. Gerry’s older curmudgeonly voice paired with Molly’s fresh honest approach should work well together.”

Heritage Week at the cathedral will be marked by two events. 

There will be a heritage picnic in the grounds of St Fin Barre’s on August 15. Open to the public, you can bring your own, or buy a fancy heritage picnic box from Proby’s Kitchen. Also, bring a picnic blanket. This event will see food made from heritage grains on offer.

During Heritage Week, there will be a conversation taking place on August 17 at 7pm at the cathedral.

The speakers are Orla O’Byrne, curator; Eoin Murphy (operations manager) who will be talking about developing a tour of the grounds; James Bourke (heritage architect); Jessie Castle (Cork City conservation officer) and Ciara Brett (Cork City archaeologist.) The discussion will be moderated by Dr Tom Spalding, design and cultural historian.

“We’ve called the whole thing 'Caring for an Icon'. I’m going to be talking about overseeing the conservation of William Burges’s maquettes.” This ongoing preservation project of rare handmade models used as templates for the cathedral’s stone carvings during its 19th century construction is led by O’Byrne.

“It’s taking up a huge amount of my time, my heart and my head. We just removed a huge number of maquettes from the south tower of the cathedral. I’ve been given a big building in the cathedral complex where the collection of maquettes will be brought together. I’m planning an international conference next March on the project.” 

While O’Byrne says it’s too early to announce what is happening at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral at Christmas, she promises that there are big plans afoot. "It’s top secret,” she jokes. 

In the meantime, the Friday lunchtime organ recitals continue for the month with David Leigh, organist and assistant master of music at St Patrick’s Cathedral, on August 7; Stefan Donner from Vienna on August 14; Peter Barley from St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick and Stéphane Eliot from Nice Cathedral in France.

For full details, see stfinbarres.ie