Conor Tallon met up with William Hammond in a socially distant 'Backyard' interview..to discuss how this year's festival has been reimagined... Behind closed doors ..well..mostly! There are some live gigs going! The 41st Cork Folk Festival runs from 30 September - 4 October with key anchor events taking place behind closed doors. As part of a re-imagined festival, over 20 concerts, launches, walks and workshops are planned, including free live streaming of two concerts from the Cork Opera House featuring top folk musicians. One of Ireland's most exciting traditional music groups, The Bonny Men and Cork’s own distinguished songwriter, John Spillane performing with Dingle songstress Pauline Scanlon, are among the artists invited to take part in the one-off virtual concerts — held without audiences — on 2 and 3 October. Produced by Aniar TV, these concerts will be streamed live on TG4’s social platforms and broadcast on TG4 television at a later date. Further details are available at corkfolkfestival.com. Festival Organiser, William Hammond said: “In our four decades of running the festival, there has never been a year quite like this. Similar to so many cultural events across the country, we needed a solution — that kept both audiences and musicians safe but still celebrated the beauty of folk music. The programme for our 41st edition of the Festival, which we are calling Festival Behind Closed Doors, is about bringing people together — virtually and in small numbers — to celebrate the extraordinary work of musicians who have provided solace and joy in recent months.” Along with the live streaming from the Cork Opera House stage — which will also include performances from The Lee Valley String Band; Karen Casey with Niamh Dunne and Sean Óg Graham; Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Nia Byrne and Manus Lunny; and Strung with Maria Ryan, Lucia Mac Partlin, Maria O’Connor and Aonghus McCarthy — across the two nights, smaller concerts will also take place. The line-up includes a mix of up-and-coming talent and more seasoned stalwarts. The Cork Folk Festival, funded by Cork City Council, will see singer/songwriter Leah Sohotra and multi-instrumentalist Martin Leahy perform at the Kino on 1 October. There will two concerts — 6.30pm and 8.30pm — on 2 October — from family trio Greenshine with Martin Leahy at the Triskel Arts Centre. Singer songwriter Anna Mieke will also perform at the Kino that day. A fundraiser — Performing A Night for Ron — takes place on 4 October for Fermoy musician Ron Kavana, who is currently receiving dialysis. Singer Katie Theasby joins Dave Saunders and Alan Wallace at the Kino, with limited tickets available. This event is one of four intimate concerts taking place in the Kino on 4 October, with a fiddle concert featuring Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Nia Byrne, Seamus Sands and Garry... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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