Play has always shaped Cork Midsummer Festival (CMF). Play is the place where ideas begin - where risk and experimentation are encouraged and celebrated, and that is where we start, as today Festival Director Lorraine Maye unveiled the exciting programme for Cork Midsummer Festival 2026, putting out a call that it is ‘Time to Play’. Every year, Cork city becomes the stage where artists from all corners of Cork, Ireland and the world offer bold new encounters and this year is no exception.
Over 50 events / performances featuring extraordinary international and Irish artists including: Isabelle Huppert, Evanna Lynch, Louise Lowe, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Adania Shibli, Pat McCabe, Michael Lightborne, David Murphy, Deirdre Kinahan, Amanda Coogan, Luke Casserly, Emer Dineen, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Ray Scannell, Jane Deasy, Laura Ní Fhlaibhín and so many more! Discover site-specific pieces that may never be seen again – or at least not in the same way.