'Cork will be buzzing': Family-friendly maritime events taking place in city 

Cork will be buzzing this week as 1,000 players in Europe’s maritime sector converge on the city for the European Union’s premier blue economy conference, while a free family-friendly festival will transform the city quays on Friday and Saturday.

The three-day European Maritime Day (EMD) conference is taking place at City Hall and ading venues until Friday, May 23.

To celebrate hosting this flagship event, Cork City Council, the Marine Institute, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Irish Naval Service and Commissioners of Irish Lights have an exciting festival programme lined up on Albert and Kennedy Quays for ‘European Maritime Days to Play’.

This will include live cooking demos by up-and-coming stars of the Irish culinary world, interactive science exhibitions and the opportunity to explore an aquaculture classroom on wheels and to tour some of the country’s naval, research, patrol and buoy laying vessels.

The importance of the maritime sector to Cork and the national economy is significant. Ireland’s ocean economy s approximately 75,000 full-time jobs, and over the past decade, Ireland’s ocean economy turnover has grown on average by 6% per year.

Up to 37% of Ireland’s marine companies are based in the south of the country, and 40% of our blue bioeconomy and seafood industry.

Cork is also home to the country’s naval base and the National Maritime College of Ireland, while the Port of Cork is one of Ireland’s main commercial ports.

From a tourism perspective, Cork Harbour is Ireland’s top cruise destination with over 115,000 engers visiting each year. Nearly three-quarters of the population of Cork city and county live within 10km of the sea.

It’s an honour for Cork City Council and the Government of Ireland to host EMD. Our oceans and seas have been gaining increasing importance on the European and international agendas. With 70,000 km of coastline and 40% of its population living within 50 km of the sea, the EU has a critical interest in maritime matters.

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin will be attending EMD in Cork as will the European Commissioner for Ocean and Fisheries, Costas Kadis, and Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Commissioner, Michael McGrath. Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Timmy Dooley TD will also be in Cork for the three-day conference.

At the event’s workshops, topics like the future of the ocean economy, maritime and food security, blue energy and opportunities and challenges for coastal communities will be discussed by maritime professionals, the Irish government, European commission representatives and innovators.

Family events 

Meanwhile, on Friday and Saturday further along the quays, families, school pupils, marine science enthusiasts, and the wider public can enjoy the two-day ‘European Maritime Days to Play’ event.

The two-day free family-friendly event will also mark the annual return of the Cork Harbour Festival, which runs from May 24 to June 2 with 80-plus events in a dozen locations across Cork city and county.

The free family-friendly ‘European Maritime Days to Play’ programme includes:

Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s Taste the Atlantic – Seafood Experience event showcasing the Atlantic coastline’s sustainable seafood. The event, ed by the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, is aimed at seafood fans of all ages and will include cooking demonstrations by BIM Taste the Atlantic Young Chef ambassadors.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s Aquaculture Remote Classroom (ARC) will offer visitors fun and immersive technologies with which to virtually plunge underwater to explore some of Ireland’s mussel, oyster and salmon farms.

The Marine Institute’s Science Exhibition will include The Wild Atlantic – What lies beneath, a series of interactive displays and exhibits exploring the marine world from the rocky seashore to the deep sea. Visitors can learn about mapping our ocean floor, deep sea exploration, marine ecosystems and fish anatomy in the laboratory. The Marine Institute will also have its famed Explorers Education Programme on site.

The Commissioners of Irish Lights, the Marine Regulator, MARA and the RNLI will also have stands, and there will be an exhibition on the History of Irish Lighthouses from 1786, history talks, a static lighthouse equipment display and a Blue Careers showcase. Evelyn Kelly, Cork Pops Orchestra, super-sized brass and samba percussion big-band, Boolaboom and circus acts will get the crowd going with musical and theatrical entertainment. The hugely popular Molgoggers will be singing sea shanties - the songs of traditional seafaring workers.

On Saturday, families can tour the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) Patrol Vessel, the Naval Service’s LÉ Aoibhinn, the Marine Institute’s RV Tom Crean and the Commissioners of Irish Lights’ ILV Granuaile.

‘European Maritime Days to Play’ will take place on Albert Quay and Kennedy Quay and is funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Cork City Council, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Eirgrid, the Marine Environment Section of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the maritime regulator, MARA.

Cork City Council, together with the Government of Ireland, is delighted to be welcoming the European maritime sector to our city for EMD and to host ‘European Maritime Days to Play’ for families and young people.

The marine sector, bioeconomy, seafood industry and maritime commercial companies play a key role in the Cork economy, providing quality jobs and ing coastal communities, while marine tourism is thriving along the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East.

See: www.corkcity.ie/en/european-maritime-days-to-play/