As part of Cork Midsummer Festival 2021, Corcadorca Theatre Company presents FitzHenry, a theatrical Anglo-Irish horse, is visiting this year’s festival taking in the city and its environs until 27th June. “Where is the Horse?” is part of Corcadorca's development of a large-scale, outdoor, theatre piece based upon Frank O’Connor’s seminal short story ‘Guests of the Nation’ which will be presented as part of Cork Midsummer Festival in 2022. This will be a creative collaboration between Kevin Barry, the celebrated Irish writer, recently long-listed for the Booker Prize, Mel Mercier, Tony-nominated and multi award-winning composer and sound designer, and Corcadorca’s Artistic Director, Pat Kiernan. This year, as part of the development, they have created a two-person theatrical horse, designed and made by Elisa Gallo Rossa, and led by performer Kathie Richardson to represent the often uneasy relationship between Ireland and England. Kathie will walk the horse around various locations, at undisclosed times, during the festival, catching the public by surprise… keep an eye out for FitzHenry!

In Diving for Pearls, a young woman's body floats in the Dubai marina. Her death alters the fates of six people, each one striving for a better life in an unforgiving city. A young Irish man comes to stay with his sister, keen to erase his troubled past in the heat of the Dubai sun. A Russian sex worker has outsmarted the system so far – but will her luck run out? A Pakistani taxi driver dreams of a future for his daughters. An Emirate man hides the truth about who he really is. An Ethiopian maid tries to carve out a path of her own. From every corner of the globe, Dubai has made promises to them all. Promises of gilded opportunities and bright new horizons, the chance to forget the past and protect long-held secrets. But Dubai breaks its promises, with deadly consequences. In a city of mirages, how do you find your way out? Jamie O’Connell , from Fermoy, was Highly Commended for the Costa Short Story Award 2018, short-listed for the Maeve Binchy Award and the Sky Arts Future’s Fund, and long-listed for BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines Short Story Competition. He teaches in University College Dublin. Diving for Pearls is his debut novel and is published by Doubleday Ireland.

Leah talks turning 25 and the importance of releasing her first single to mark the moment.She studied songwriting in Dublin in the BIMM Institute gaining a wealth of experience from the other musicians on the course.For more information on Leah's music visit: https://www.instagram.com/leahrosemusic/?hl=en

Cruinniú na nÓg is a creative festival for children and young adults, and Sharon and daughter Karina have cooked up, shot, edited and produced a promo video featuring their dance troop of 56 dancers between the ages of 6 -24, dancing in pods at various hot spots around the Wild Atlantic Way. Other events on display include ; Music Generation Cork, GMC Beats workshop and plenty more... To find out more about Cruinniú na nÓg visit: Cruinniú na nÓg - A day of free creativity for children and young people (creativeireland.gov.ie)Joan Denise Moriarty - School of Dance (joandenisemoriartyschoolofdance.ie)

Literary curator Danny Denton tells us about A City and A Garden, commissioned by Sounds from a Safe Harbour in association with Body & Soul and presented as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh, a nationwide, ten-day season of arts experiences brought to you by the Arts Council. It’s a new state-of-the-art sonic experience that combines story and song produced by some of Ireland’s most exciting writers, musicians, and voice artists.From Friday 11 - Sunday 20 June, visitors will discover, through free smartphone technology, the stories and songs that lie hidden in the trees and bricks of our city spaces. There are 2 trails across Cork City: ROUTE 1 - Cork City - Sundays Well Road (Rose Construction hoarding) to Red Abbey Square.A Northside rebel tells us how on a mad dash through the city streets she lost her heart - and various other bits of herself - to a lovely boy from West Cork in “Town: A Love Story in Body Parts” by Lisa McInerney. Narrated by Hilary Rose with accompanying music by Fish Go Deep. ROUTE 2 - Cork City - Mardyke Bridge (Skate Park) to Bell’s FieldA lone man, invisible to you or me and stuck in some in-between place, slips through time as he follows a path from riverside to graveyard to hilly climb in “Now, Voyagers” by Louise Hegarty. Narrated by Conor Lovett with sound design by The Quiet Club and song by Seán O’Sé.For more info visit: Sounds from a Safe Harbour // SFSH

Back home in Wategrasshill cause of you know what Watergrasshill musican Kelsey here tells Dave about her new single and journey into music to date.

Jeanette from Killmallock has been in Cork since college and has been a singer, hair dresser and now makeup artist with 66.8K Insta followers, a large portion of which came from jumping on a TikTok makeup trend. A relative newcomer to the industry, up to age 33 Jeanette had a varied background; she studied music in Cork and was involved in signing in clubs, after this she studied Counselling and psychotherapy and then worked in a salon for 10 years. Jeanette will be demonstrating her skills, with videos posted on Red FM'S Facebook page every Thursday throughout the month of June. Corks RedFM 104-106 - Home | Facebook

The power of art to connect, inspire and tell a story is beautifully and powerfully encapsulated in Kindred Spirits, a distinctive and much-loved sculpture, located at Bailick Park in Midleton. Created by Alex Pentek, the piece was commissioned by Cork County Council in 2013 and commemorates the donation of $170 (a huge sum for the time) by the Choctaw Nation to the Irish people during the Famine. The piece, referred to locally as ‘the feathers’, comprises nine 20ft-high stainless steel feathers, each one unique, in the shape of an empty bowl. It is a feat of artistic ingenuity, design and engineering, taking heavy-duty materials and making them appear as light and delicate as the air that blows through them.Pentek, who lives near Grenagh, Co Cork, says he wanted to encompass the Irish and Choctaw stories of oppression in the piece, and he did extensive research on the history of both nations ahead of making it.http://alexpentek.com/profile/

Cork ETB student Anna Jakobek has recently been accepted into the Washington Leadership Programme and has written a testimonial about her time in Mayfield Training Centre. Anna recently hosted Cork ETB’s Youthreach and Community Training Centres #ThisIsMe exhibition and anthology at Crawford Gallery. For more info visit: https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40298996.html

Anna Keyes, Amy O'Brien, Eleanore Robb and Alannah Wyrnn joined YMCA Cork last year, where they met online.Celebrating its 10th year, Trend Micro’s What’s Your Story? annual video competition posed a very fitting question to Ireland’s youth, ‘How did the internet help you get through this past year?’ Leaders in cloud security, Trend Micro’s What’s Your Story? competition is an annual highlight in their Internet Safety for Kids & Families (ISKF) programme. It is designed to give young people a platform to educate themselves and others on responsible use of the internet and to nurture this safe space. Featuring a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to summarise the roll the internet played in their lives last year, ‘I could be bound in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space’, it was Anna Keyes, Amy O'Brien, Eleanore Robb and Alannah Wyrnn from YMCA Cork who were crowned overall competition winners. In just two minutes they demonstrated how technology was intertwined in all of their individual interests from learning guitar with the assistance of YouTube tutorials to cooking along to Instagram lives. Commenting on their winning submission Alannah says, “It got personal. Lockdown allowed us the time to focus on our own personal needs and the internet was a huge support for personal development, growth and friendship”. While for Anna and Amy, it was the fostering of friendships which stood out most, “The internet allowed us to find like-minded people where we could learn and broaden our views on so many things that we are passionate about”. “What is amazing about our overall winners this year, is that before the cheque presentation they had never met in person before. The students from Ballydehob, Mitchelstown, Dunmanway and Carrigaline joined YMCA last year, where they met online. Our increased dependence on the internet this past year has created some challenges, but also great opportunities. In the case of these talented young people, they showed the world how the internet has positively impacted their lives and literally brought them together.”