Féile na nGael

Project Partner: GAA/Coiste Chontae Chorcaí CLG
Date: 17 – 19 June 2005
Venue: GAA Clubs throughout Cork city & county

Project Description:
Venue: GAA Clubs throughout Cork city & county Parade at 7.30 pm on the 17th June on Union Quay The county became home to 1,000 childrens teams from all over Ireland when it hosted Féile na nGael in 2005.

For well over a century, the citizens of Cork have been creating and enjoying their own special brand of performance art. Site-specific productions enthusiastically staged every day of the week in every part of the city and county, grip entire communities as only true art can.

Our gaelic games have long occupied Cork's cultural mainstream and those who witness the balletic artistry of a hurler in full flight or the existential agony of a goalkeeper facing a last minute penalty, can only marvel at the marriage of physical prowess and aesthetic endeavour.

At the heart of it all is the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), a key contributor to the cultural life of Cork city and county. 2005 was a special year in Cork's GAA calendar, as the county became home to 1,000 children from all over Ireland when it hosted the National Féile na nGael competition. The team competitions were run on a graded basis and the winner of the Skills Competition was presented with the Christy Ring Perpetual Trophy in the home county of the man many consider the greatest hurler of all.

Cork holds 110 All-Ireland titles at all levels, across the twin codes of hurling and football and including the current All-Ireland Senior Hurling Title. And as popular as football is, hurling has always held a special place in the hearts of Corks' citizens. The names of the men who have worn the red and white of Cork are part of the fabric of Cork's very history: Men such as the Coughlans of Blackrock, Jamesy Kelleher of Dungourney, Eddie Coughlan, Jim Hurley and Dinny Barry Murphy, and of course the stars of the 40's; Jack Lynch, Christy Ring, Billy 'Long Puck' Murphy and Micka Brennan.

And there is no shortage of contemporary heroes to nourish Cork's love of the game and write new chapters in the county's GAA heritage. Cork 2005, in partnership with Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Chontae Chorcaí, honoured this unique sporting heritage through a series of exciting exhibitions and games. Performance art with that extra edge.