Cork buskers face 10pm curfew and two-hour performance limit

Two-hour busking slots will be created in more than 20 busking zones across the city centre

Buskers in Cork City will face a 10pm curfew under new draft bylaws which are set to be approved next week.

They will have to pay €30 for an annual busking permit, €60 if they use amplification, with fees for large groups capped at €180. 

Exemptions will be available for some large groups involved in charity collections or special events such as the choral, jazz, and St Patrick’s Day festivals.

Two-hour busking slots will be created in more than 20 busking zones across the city centre, with a two-hour gap between the next slot to give traders and city workers a break from back-to-back performances.

Buskers will also have to have a minimum 30-minute repertoire, but there will be no audition or screening process before permits are issued.

But despite requests to Cork City Council for an increase in the noise limit and an extension of the night-time busking slots, the council plans to maintain its 75dB limit on performers and to stop busking in some zones at 8pm and prevent all busking in the city beyond 10pm.

A draft image of the type of sign which could be erected at Cork's new designated busking zones if new draft busking byelaws are approved.

“Cork City Council acknowledges the Nighttime Economy Taskforce, but also recognises that Cork City is a living city and therefore, to respect residents living in the city, the latest time will remain at 10pm,” it said.

However, the council has responded to feedback during the public consultation process and made amendments, including:

• Lifting the proposed prohibition on backing tracks;
• Reducing the age for unaccompanied performers to 16 years;
• Relaxing rules about set-up and packing-up times;
• Allowing digital and online donations, in addition to the traditional ‘buskers cap’;
• And capping permit fees for large groups, like choirs and bands.

The details were outlined at a special meeting of the council’s environment committee on Tuesday night where Green Party Councillor Oliver Moran sought, and secured, a further amendment that will result in the waiving of permit fees for street performers aged under 25.

The bylaws are due to come before next week’s March meeting of the full council for approval, and come into force soon afterwards.

Cork Street Performers Association secretary Paul Doherty: 'We engaged in this looking for constructive and sensible outcomes for all to create and foster a positive street culture in Cork.'

Saxophone player Paul Doherty, secretary of the newly formed Cork Street Performers Association, and who busks as The GentleJAZZman, donating his busking income to charity, broadly welcomed the amendments but voiced concern over the 75dB noise limit.

“My sense is that although we came late to the party, when we did arrive, we were respectfully received and it sounds like we’ve had some influence,” he said.

“We understand that there are issues the council had to address, and we respect the fact that they are trying to get the best compromise for all stakeholders.

“We engaged in this looking for constructive and sensible outcomes for all to create and foster a positive street culture in Cork.

“What we hope for now is a really strong and ongoing collaborative relationship with the council so that if in the future some of the new bylaws are found to be causing problems, we will have the opportunity to engage and review them, over time.” 

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The association has now developed a voluntary code of practice and has asked its members to agree to uphold several principles around considerate behaviour, to deliver music that is “technically competent, tuneful, and inoffensive to the listening public”, to have a varied repertoire, to perform for no longer than two hours in any one location, and to perform at a “reasonable volume”.

Mr Doherty encouraged buskers to contact the association on [e-mail].