31 March 2026
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Cork County Council is inviting arts organisations, community groups, artists and others to submit proposals for events that will be programmed as part of Culture Night 2026
Cork County Council has issued an open call for events to celebrate culture, creativity and the arts as part of Culture Night 2026. This year, Culture Night/Oíche Chultúir will take place on Friday, the 18th September. Culture Night is a national movement which sees cultural venues stay open late and communities come together to deliver free cultural events for all.
In 2025, over 18,000 people came out to celebrate Culture Night in County Cork, attending fire shows, underground music events, community parades, and so much more. Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Service is now inviting arts organisations, community groups, artists and others to submit proposals for events that will be programmed as part of Culture Night 2026.
Welcoming the call for proposals for events, the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley said, “Culture Night is always an exciting night on the calendar. Each year we see communities work together to deliver amazing arts events. The variety of activities on offer is a testament to our lively communities. I look forward to getting out and about this year to see what the county has to offer.”
For Culture Night 2026, Cork County Council invites arts organisations, community groups, artists and others to submit proposals for events that will be programmed as part of Culture Night 2026. Cork County Council will support events that provide opportunities for communities to work together. The aim is to programme events to include opportunities for all audiences to engage, including families, youth audiences, adults, and older people as well as communities including Travellers, LGBT+ groups, and migrants.
The highlights of the programme last year included a micro-parade in Killeagh which brought together children from local schools who made floats with an artist for the parade; a night of electronic music at Connolly’s of Leap where it’s rumoured one of electronic music’s pioneers from the 90’s played a secret gig; and various Irish language events in the county including pop-up Gaeltachts and bilingual theatre for children.
For 2026, the arts service is looking for proposals for events across all art forms from storytelling to visual arts. Events could include creative workshops, community parades, crafts showcases, artist talks, live performances, open studios, etc. There are a limited number of grants available to support the delivery of events throughout the county.
Cork County Culture Night will take place across the county with a particular focus on the towns of Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Mallow, Charleville, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, Bandon, Kinsale, Carrigaline, Passage West, Macroom, Baile Mhuirne, Midleton, Youghal, Cobh and Watergrasshill.
An online information session will be held on the 21st of April at 6.30pm. To register, email arts@corkcoco.ie
Further information and application details are available via the Council’s website www.corkcoco.ie.
Applications must be submitted online. The deadline for submission of proposals to Culture Night is 5.00pm on 1st June 2026.