Two great festivals for springtime in Ireland

The island of Ireland loves a festival, and this April it’s warming up with two of the best as winter fades to a distant memory.

First up, it’s the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast, back with a bang from 28 April – 8 May. Described by the New York Times as Belfast’s liveliest festival, it promises to live up to its reputation with a wide-ranging and upbeat programme.

For 11 days, the whole city will join the fun with 25 venues across the historic Cathedral Quarter hosting the sassiest, brassiest and classiest acts on the island’s cultural calendar. The programme is filled with exciting arts, live music, comedy, literature, theatre, film and more across over 150 shows.

This year’s music programme features stellar acts in the Festival Marquee, located in front of the impressive nineteenth-century, palazzo-style Custom House. These includes British musical underground band, Mogwai, Irish rock band Bell X1, and veteran bands Echo & the Bunnymen and Soul II Soul. Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley also plays the venue.

Comedy highlights include Lucy Porter and Robin Ince, while poetry takes centre stage in performances by the UK’s Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, and Ted Hughes Award winner Hollie McNish.

Among the eclectic mix of events is an invitation to festival-goers to ‘dress up, drink and draw’, encouraging them to embrace the role of the artist in this celebration of colour and humour. There is even a whiskey tour, an adventure into finding out the secret history what was once Belfast’s most lucrative industry.

Acknowledged for its cutting-edge arts and culture programming and vibrant indie spirit, the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival is a joyous event and one of the best reasons to visit Belfast in the spring.

Right at the other end of the island, the Cork International Choral Festival will be on song from 27 April – 1 May when the city welcomes the finest international and Irish choirs to stage world-class performances.

In what is considered to be one of Europe’s finest international choral festivals, there will be a number of competitions including the esteemed Fleischmann International Trophy, which will see choirs from six countries vie for the title of top a cappella amateur choir.

There will also be masterclasses, talks and informal and impromptu public musical interludes transforming Cork into a ‘singing city’.

While the standard of the festival performances is second to none, the warmth of the Cork welcome and the incredible atmosphere that resonates across the city over the five days of the festival is what keeps people coming back year after year.

With two great festivals in two great cities, the island of Ireland is the place to embrace the arts this spring.

www.ireland.com