Focused on the sound of the sea through music, song and particularly sea shanties, a new maritime festival is planned for the Cork Harbour town of Carrigaline in June.
“This is primarily focused on song to promote maritime interest – shanties, sea songs, forebitters and folk songs from around the world, the culture and tradition of the sea,” says Pat Sheridan, one of Ireland’s leading shanty singers, who came up with the idea.
“Shanties are a particular traditional genre of maritime tradition, a wide-ranging cultural style that was the working songs of the sailing crews, where the Shantyman used the timing of the shanty to hoist sail and to build crew morale. There are also shanties for when the crews were ashore, it’s all part of the maritime tradition.”
The Carrigaline International Maritime and Folk Festival will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 26, 27, 28. Seventy groups of artistes and individual performers are pledged to attend from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Poland, Australia and America, says Sheridan, who is the Festival Director and has an international reputation, having performed with shanty groups in several countries.
Shanty Voice – Festival Director Pat Sheridan, an internationally recognised shanty singer, is behind the new Carrigaline maritime festival celebrating global sea song traditions
“There will be shanty-singing events throughout the town, including a ‘shanty capstan session on the town bandstand, and we will also feature the land, ashore folk aspect. There will also be a session at the RCYC in Crosshaven and a cultural and educational aspect with workshops to raise maritime interest. There’s strong business support from the town and good voluntary support, and the intention and hope is that this will become an annual maritime event. There’s a lot of tradition, fun, pride and an entire social, cultural part of the maritime tradition through shanties and sea music.”
Carrigaline is in South-East Cork, on the Owenabue River and close to Crosshaven.
In the Podcast interview below, Festival Director Pat Sheridan discusses the tradition of shanties.
