Cork gets into carnival swing for céilí mór

The joy of sets - Cork is set to reverberate to the pulsating rhythms of jigs and reels next Sunday when thousands of dancers will take to Patrick Street to participate in the Céilí Mór.

Run in conjunction with the Beamish Cork Folk Festival which starts today, the Céilí Mór is now in its third year following the success of the inaugural céilí as part of Cork 2005.

Organiser William "Hammy" Hammond explained: "We organised the first céilí mór in 2005 as part of Cork's hosting of the European Capital of Culture and it was a great success.

"We made an attempt to break the world record for the largest number of people to dance a set together and we managed to do that when 7,664 people danced a Siege of Ennis.

"Now as part of this year's Beamish Cork Folk Festival, we're holding another céilí mór to celebrate breaking the record which is still standing two years on," he said.

This year's céilí mór will take place in Patrick Street with the street being closed from Patrick's Bridge to Academy Street to accommodate the dancers and the musicians.

"We're going to have two stages at either end of the section of the street that will be closed off and over the course of the day, we expect to draw around 10,000 people," said Hammond.

"Every village in Ireland used to have crossroads dancing - that's what people did on a Sunday - so when I picked Patrick Street, I was thinking of that tradition of crossroads dancing."

Among the many musicians participating will be the Kilfenora Céilí Band while visiting musicians from 15 European countries attending the European Broadcasting Union's Radio Folk Festival in Cork will also play.

Also taking part will be several set dance teachers including Timmy "The Brit" McCarthy from Ballyvourney who will be calling the sets from one of the stages in Patrick Street.

"I'll be calling sets from the stage - I did it back in 2005 and I'm looking forward to it again - it's nice to see Cork taking the céilí mór to heart like this," said McCarthy.

"Our kind of music wouldn't be in the mainstream of commercial music but it has soul and depth and it has longevity and the festival doesn't just represent the city but the area around the city.

What Hammond and McCarthy are particularly pleased about this year is the broadening out of the céilí mór into a carnival with gospel groups, circus acts, more than 30 local food producers and face painting for children.