As part of the Cork Folk Festival 2026, we are delighted to offer the screening of a documentary about Irish traditional music in France, on Saturday 10th October at 6 pm, at Alliance Française de Cork:

Musique irlandaise en France : une 6e province ? / Irish Music in France: A Sixth Province? A 2026 documentary directed by Hervé Cantal and Falc’her-Poyroux, with the support of the university of Tours and the Maison des sciences sociales et des humanités Val de Loire.

Based on 80 interviews conducted across France, this film explores the incredible journey of traditional Irish music beyond its borders and its diaspora.

Runtime: 91 Minutes.
In French with English subtitles.
Free event. Registration is essential as places are limited.

Click here to register for this screening

How did a music so deeply rooted in Ireland’s history become, within a few decades, a French passion?
Through 80 interviews conducted between 2023 and 2025 with musicians, dancers, teachers, and instrument makers gathered across France, this film explores the remarkable journey of Irish traditional music beyond its borders and its diaspora—the ‘fifth province’ dear to Mary Robinson.
Since the 1960s, French musicians have taken up this tradition and made it their own: like jazz or reggae, Irish music now belongs to the world’s cultural heritage. This documentary shows that it is today experienced as a genuine space of freedom by musicians of all generations. Far from being a mere copy, the practice of Irish music in France has become a field of creation in which everyone can now compose their own cultural identity.

About the directors of the documentary:
Hervé Cantal is a French musician of the Irish traditional scene, and a radio producer and director with several decades of experience.
Erick Falc’her-Poyroux is a University Professor of Irish and British Studies in Tours, author of several books on Ireland and the Beatles, and a musician-composer.

Click here to register for this screening

In order to celebrate the Special Edition of our Cork French Film Festival in October,
We are delighted to invite children (from the age of 6) and their parents to a free screening
of French animation film:

Chien Pourri, la vie à Paris !
(Stéphane Aubier, Davy Durand et Vincent Patar)
2021 Anima Festival BeTV Award for Best Feature Film

on Sunday 11 Oct, 10 am,
at Alliance Française de Cork

In French, with English subtitles.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx6sshHWxCA

Places are limited.
Click here > to book your place

13 - 18 October 2026:
In order to celebrate the Cork-France Pairing as part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, we are delighted to organise a Special Edition of our Cork French Film Festival this October.
Mini edition organised with the support of the Cork City Council, the Embassy of France in Ireland, Institut Français, and the AIPLF.

All films will be screened at the Arc Cinema in Cork, in French with English subtitles.

School screenings: Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14 & Thursday 15 Oct (10 am), in Cork, Mallow and Midleton : Tempête / Ride Above (Christian Duguay). For school screenings, please contact the cinema in Cork, Mallow or Midleton directly. A teaching resource for this film is available on the AIPLF website.

Cork French Film Festival School screenings
at the Arc Cinema, in Cork, Mallow and Midleton, 13th -15th October
to celebrate the Cork-France pairing as part of the 2027 Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU
with the support of the French Embassy, the Cork City Council, and Institut Français.

Ride Above / Tempête
French film directed by Christian Duguay / France / 2022 / 110 mins / in French, with English subtitles

Adapted from French writer Christophe Donner’s novel Tempête au haras, this French film tells the story of Zoé’s life at her parents’ racehorse stables in Normandy, driven by the dream of someday becoming a jockey like her father.
But one stormy night, a terrible accident leaves her confi ned to a wheelchair. With the support of her family, the help of her therapist and under the guidance of Seb, a stable hand with a gift for communicating with horses, Zoé will endeavour to make her dream come true.

Cork City:
13th, 14th & 15th October, 10 am
Booking: [email protected]

Midleton:
Tuesday 13th October, 10 am
Booking: [email protected]

Mallow:
Thursday 15th October, 10.30 am
Booking: [email protected]

Bookings through email only, by 5th October. Limited seating. Early booking is advised.
7.50 € per student (DEIS school concession: 6.50 €). Free for accompanying teachers.

Please see the AIPLF website to download a free teaching resource for this film:
https://aiplf-ireland.com/ressources-fle-sur-des-films/

Programme for adults over three nights (16 - 18 October 2026) here: https://www.alliancefrancaisecork.com/Oct-2026-Special-Edition-of-the-Cork-French-Film-Festival

On 12th September, Alliance Française de Cork was represented by its President, Valérie David-McGonnell, at the annual lunch organised by Brittany Ferries, the France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce, and the Cork Chamber of Commerce, on board the Pont-Aven ship in Ringaskiddy.

This event was attended by H. E. Céline Place, Ambassador of France to Ireland, EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, Minister Jerry Buttimer TD, Mayor of County Cork Cllr. Bernard Moynihan, Lord Mayor of Cork City Cllr. Damian Boylan, France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce President Chris Smyth, Brittany Ferries President Jean-Marc Roué, Cork Chamber of Commerce President Susie Horgan, Cobh & Harbour Chamber of Commerce President Colin Morehead, General Manager of Brittany Ferries for Ireland Hugh Bruton, CEO of the Port of Cork, Ann Doherty, and many other guests.

On 1st October, at 7 pm, we will be organising a French-themed quiz (in English) in aid of Focus Ireland, at Alliance Francaise de Cork.

Prizes for the winner of this quiz have kindly been provided by Cork Flower Studio, L’Occitane, Iago, Azure Jewellery, Tory Top Chocolate, Cork Niche Fragrances, and the French Embassy.

Entry fee: 20 € per person (all proceeds will go to Focus Ireland).

Please note that registration must be done in advance as places are limited.

Art exhibition in our gallery (September to early December):

’Anatomy of Absence’ by Emma O’Riordan, Crawford College of Art and Design Graduate and winner of the 2026 Alliance Francaise de Cork - CCAD Solo Exhibition Award

Emma O’Riordan is an emerging artist from Bantry, County Cork, and a recent BA (Hons) Fine Art graduate of the Crawford College of Art and Design in Cork City. Building on the momentum of her degree show, she has received numerous awards and two solo exhibitions, the most recent being this presentation at Alliance Française de Cork.

Her research-informed practice, working primarily through painting and drawing, explores personal narratives within broader societal commentaries on womanhood. Through figurative imagery and expanded painting methodologies, O’Riordan investigates complex themes of sexism, misogyny, violence against women, trauma, disembodiment, power dynamics, vulnerability, and resilience.

In this exhibition, she considers the relationship between the body and mind, tension and ease as well as abstract feelings. This body of work continues her ongoing investigation into these profound and layered narratives.

The official opening took place on Tuesday 15th September, with Lord Mayor of Cork City Cllr. Damian Boylan, County Cork Deputy Mayor Cllr. Gillian Coughlan, and Cllr. Ben Dalton O’Sullivan, AF de Cork President Valérie David-McGonnell, AF de Cork Vice President Pascal Lucas, and elected Board Member Dr Barry Monahan.

We are looking forward to meeting you at our Open Day on Saturday 5th September, from 10 am to 3 pm.

Come and meet our teachers, have your level of French assessed, register for a course and/or a Cultural Supporter membership, and enter our Open Day draw!

On 14th August 2026, Alliance Française de Cork took part in the Cork on a Fork Festival for the very first time, with a booked-up event about Cork and French cheeses!

Many thanks to French cheesemaker Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin, who gave a fantastic presentation comparing Cork and French cheeses, which attendees were able to taste as he spoke.

Thank you also to Marc, Maelis and Jose for assisting Jean-Baptiste during his presentation, and to Hegarty cheese and On The Pig’s Back Ireland for supporting this event. And thank you to everyone who attended!

18 September, 7 pm, as part of Culture Night:

Free screening of Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Robinson Crusoe” at AF de Cork, project led by the Rennes Opera.
Sung in French, with English subtitles.
Screening in partnership with Rennes Ville et Metropole and the Cork City Council.

Daniel Defoe’s world-famous story of Robinson Crusoe, the talent of Jacques Offenbach, Laurent Pelly’s debut production at the Rennes Opera, and a particularly promising cast.

The music of Robinson Crusoe reveals a wealth of imagination and colour, performed by the Orchestre National de Bretagne and conductor Guillaume Tourniaire, one of the foremost specialists in French music. Who better than Laurent Pelly to stage this little-known score and strike the subtle balance between laughter and poetry, while exploring our relationship with the unknown and the foreign?

The screening will be introduced by a video message from Nathalie Appéré, Mayor of Rennes.

Teaser: https://youtu.be/Gpbrr5wj3fg?t=9

Running time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission
Opera sung and surtitled in English

Registration is essential as places are limited: