Head down, follow through...

Martin Hayes has travelled from the céilí bands of his native Clare, via The Gloaming, to a new quartet with American musicians, writes Ellie O’Byrne.

Aoife Burke is a cellist from Cork, and currently holds a residency at the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork, as part of which she curates the summer lunchtime concert series and the Spotlight chamber music series. 

The sonorous sounds of a string sextet playing Dvorak in the elegant 19th century library in Bantry House drew the 22nd West Cork Chamber Music Festival to a close.

AS THE annual West Cork Chamber Music Festival settles comfortably into its third decade, a stellar line-up of musicians will again gather from all over the world for a classical music festival cum country house party on the edge of the Atlantic, writes Cathy Desmond.

Growing up I was more on the shy side, but music enabled me to find a great way of self-expression.

Sunshine giving you that festival buzz? We've got the ultimate guide to some of the best festivals around!

Take a stroll through Ireland’s majestic gardens with Donal Hickey.

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A group of top instrument makers will show off their age-old crafts at West Cork Chamber Music festival, writes Cathy Desmond

A county council-led plan to boost the economy of West Cork through encouraging more cruise liner passengers into the area is beginning to pay off.

An extract from Sean Ó Sé’s new book recalls wartime in West Cork and those first steps towards a life in music.

For any business, customer loyalty is vital, particularly during a summer routinely described as a washout. However, as Noel Baker discovered, one West Cork town is ensuring rain is not a spoiler by offering visitors more cultural events and a greater choice of eateries

Bantry Bay will ring with the sounds of traditional music as the acclaimed Masters of Tradition series runs for the next four days in the town, having opened last night.

Niall Murray talks to the man who’s on the money when it comes to odd items on Antiques Roadshow.

Bantry House/ St Brendan’s Church

Here’s a round up of some of the best festival line-up’s country-wide, from Ailin Quinlan.

Declan Townsend is relishing the prospect of the aural delights on offer at this year’s West Cork Chamber Music Festival

“You couldn’t buy this type of publicity,” said James Fogarty, a senior official at Cork County Council, beaming in delight at the latest issue of the bible for cruise ship company executives.

A 6,000-year-old home built in the Ballincollig area features in a 200-page book on Heritage Houses of County Cork which could make an interesting Christmas stocking-filler.

THE sign on road heading into Bantry could be read as one offering reassurance. As the tarmac undergoes resurfacing, the cardboard sign declares ‘Bantry House, business as usual’.

The Port of Cork is seeking planning permission for a €1.5m deep-water pontoon and access bridges to cater for bigger cruise liners arriving in Cobh.

NOT every house can boast a suite of tapestries given as a gift by the King of France to his future daughter-in-law, Marie-Antoinette.

Even though the catalogue is still in the course of preparation, the Irish Examiner can today offer a sneak preview of treasures from Bantry House to be sold by Edinburgh-based auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull on October 21.

If you have the courage to make the leap, experimentation can bring excitement to your life, Martin Hayes tells Ed Power in advance of tbe Masters of Tradition festival

INTERNATIONAL interest in the October auction of contents from Bantry House will centre on tapestries, icons and furniture.

1|theatre|ARISTOCRATS

Bantry to Drumclough loop of the Sheep’s Head Way

This year’s West Cork Chamber Music Festival promises to be the best ever, writes Declan Townsend.

The Westlodge Hotel in Bantry, Co Cork which has been in operation for over 40 years, is for sale for €2 million.

THE 20-year-old Franz Schubert was once asked how it was possible for him to have composed so much music at his age.

Bittersweet is how violinist, Catherine Leonard describes the feeling she anticipates when she and pianist, Hugh Tinney will perform the last event in the West Cork Music’s Concert Series at Bantry House on Saturday.

Live music: Masters of Tradition

Carl Dixon on how Cork Craft Month showcases local talent and initiative

NOW in its 11th year, the Masters of Tradition Festival in Bantry, Co Cork (August 14-18) has turned out to be exactly the kind of festival that its artistic director, Martin Hayes, envisaged.

1) Fota House & Gardens, Co Cork

This definitely wasn’t your typical removal job.

Thinking about how I would try to fill the shoes of my predecessor on this page has driven me to distraction. So I have decided not to.

The West Cork Chamber Music Festival’s creative approach and warm welcome continues to draw performers of the highest calibre, writes Jo Kerrigan

THIS was the question asked of Francis Humphrys, the artistic director of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, by the French horn virtuoso, Herve Joulain.

The descendants of the great houses of the South-West, whose social life once revolved around each other, gathered for the first time in more than 100 years at Muckross House in Killarney over the weekend.