West Cork Music has been awarded the highest amount of funding in the county from the Arts Council for 2026, securing €510,000.

The Bantry-based organisation, which runs three annual festivals each summer, was the largest beneficiary in the latest round of grants totalling €72.3million.

The Arts Council selected 148 organisations, centres, creative initiatives and local authorities nationwide as part of its 2026 development programme.

A total of 15 arts organisations and events based in County Cork will receive a total of €4,107,690 in funding for the year ahead.

As part of this, organisations based in County Cork receive a total of €4,107,690 in Arts Council funding for 2026. The round of funding represents more than half of the Arts Council’s annual investment, with further awards announced later in the year.

West Cork Music was awarded €510,000 which will support its hugely successful Chamber Music Festival, Literary Festival and Masters of Tradition.

The trio of international festivals are worth an estimated €7.7million to the local economy and are ‘invaluable’ in boosting the region’s international profile, independent research has shown.

An economic assessment of the festivals by Professor Eleanor Doyle of Cork University Business School at UCC found they provided a huge boost in terms of tourism and spin offs.

Figures showed that 15,888 tickets were sold in 2025 with in excess of 5,570 people attending the three events. Of those attending 17% were from overseas, with 53% from outside the Bantry region.

Local providers benefited from 20,761 bed nights to accommodate audiences, artists and volunteers and attendees spent an estimated €4.8million on accommodation, catering and other local services.

Other Cork beneficiaries of Arts Council funding include West Cork Arts Centre (€300,000), The Everyman (€500,000), Cork Midsummer Festival (€497,000), Irish Association of Youth Orchestras (€350,000) and Cork International Film Festival (€285,000).

The Firkin Crane is in line for a €232,000 boost, while Munster Literature Centre is awarded €246,000. Others include Cork Printmakers (€93,990), Lewis Glucksman Gallery (€153,500), National Sculpture Factory Cork (€353,200), Sirius Arts Centre (€135,000), Triskel Arts Centre (€253,000), Cork City Council (€104,000) and Cork County Council (€95,000).

Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan said: ‘Public investment through grant funding is essential to sustaining and developing the arts across every part of Ireland.

‘These awards support artists and organisations to realise ambitious creative work across all platforms, while ensuring that people of all ages and backgrounds have meaningful opportunities to engage with the arts in their everyday lives.’