Fèile Foghlama Chorcaì
Cork Lifelong Learning Festival and Féile an Phobail Belfast Cork Lifelong Learning festival has bult up a connection with partners in Belfast, and has committed to developing stronger relations between the cities in the context of the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement, since a Co-Operation Ireland programme featured during the festival in 2008. In 2010 the partnership between the two festivals was formalised following initial joint events with Féile an Phobail – the annual Community Festival in Belfast, were held the previous year. Now 14 years later we celebrate and acknowledge the links and the friendships that have subsequently developed between the festivals over the year. Highlights during those years included the President of Ireland Mary McAleese welcoming the link as she officially opened the 2011 Cork Festival; 2012 when the Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall O’Donnghaile jointly launched the festival with Lord Mayor of Cork Terry Shannon, 2018 when the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival helped celebrate Feile’s 30th birthday at its launch by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Lord Mayor of Belfast Deirde Hargey; and 2019 when the link was featured as part of the Co-Operation Ireland 40th anniversary celebrations at an event in Cork City Hall.
In 2023, in the context of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a newly commissioned series of Display Boards were debuted during Féile’s Exhibitions programme in Belfast in August. These begin to tell the story of the range of cross community exchange programmes to date, including Murals, Marathons, youth boat building and rowing, and Scribes, a North South writers series, featured with accompanying Video. In 2024 after more than a decade of sustained connections, all involved look forward to many more years growing together as ‘Festival cousins’.
CORK LIFELONG LEARNING FESTIVAL WED 10TH - WED 17TH APRIL
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