THE recent announcement of a laureate for Irish fiction, for which the recipient will be awarded €150,000 over three years, is welcome for writers and readers.

LAUNCHED earlier this week, the inaugural IndieCork Film Festival (Oct 16-20) is very much a showcase for independent films. It includes seven Irish premieres, consisting of three feature films, two documentaries, one experimental film and an anthology of Cork-themed films entitled ‘Cork, Like’. There are two ‘Creative Cork’ programmes, featuring 20 short films from established and first-time local filmmakers.

A new film festival is to be held in Cork next October — a month before Cork Film Festival.

UP TO €1m is to be invested in a new micro-brewery in the old heart of Cork city, the Coal Quay.