Alliance Française de Cork, a French corner in the heart of the Cork City Centre (Ireland)

Founded in 1947, the Alliance Française de Cork has celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2022!

Alliance Française de Cork was founded in 1947, first as the ’Cork French Circle’, by Irish actress and teacher Rachel Burrows. Alliance Française de Cork is a not-for-profit organisation which is part of a network of over 800 Alliances Françaises around the world. Alliance Française de Cork is also a registered Irish charity.

The aim of Alliance Française de Cork is to promote the French language and the cultures of the French-speaking world.

Our teachers are native French speakers with substantial experience in the teaching of French. They use a communicative approach.

Our Leaving Certificate French Preparation tutor has a 20+ year expertise in preparing students for this examination.

Alliance Française de Cork, a French language and cultural centre

Alliance Française de Cork is ideally located on Mary Street, a five minutes’ walk from a range of bike ranks, bus stops, taxi ranks, and cafeterias, in the centre of the beautiful, vibrant Cork City.

Perhaps you are a beginner, considering various apps and weighing up your options for learning French. Or maybe you want to dust off your school French and make some progress. Or you may have reached an advanced level and wish to maintain it or develop it further. Maybe you need to improve your French for an examination, work or your holidays?

Wherever you are at, whatever your objectives, look no further than Alliance Française de Cork! We make learning French enjoyable!
With everything you need to learn and practise French all under the same roof, the choice is clear: put your success in our expert hands and let us support you through your language-learning journey.

We teach General French, Conversation French, French for Specific Purposes (Business French, examination preparation, French for International Relations, French for teachers, etc.), as well as French as a Home Language (FLM, for children/teenagers who speak French at home).
We offer French courses for all proficiency levels, for adults, teenagers, children, teachers, diplomats, and college students, in group classes or individual tuition, in person or online.

For more information, please visit Our French Courses section.

We also organise cultural events and activities, such as our annual Cork French Film Festival and exhibitions in our art gallery. We have also launched our AF Cork French Ciné Club in June 2025, and release regular French podcasts and other resources.

Alliance Française de Cork, the only French DELF & DALF examination centre in Co. Cork

We are the only DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) & DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) examination centre in Co. Cork.
For more information, please visit our Diplomas & Certifications section.

Why choose Alliance Française de Cork?

- Alliance Française de Cork has been teaching French classes for 79 years; in 2024-2025, close to 900 students learnt French with us;
- Alliance Française de Cork French online and in-person classes are taught by qualified French Nationals who are experienced in the teaching of French as a Foreign Language;
- Alliance Française de Cork was the very first AF to offer French Upskilling courses for primary school teachers in Ireland;
- Alliance Française de Cork was commissioned by the French Embassy to create several resources for post-primary teachers of French in Ireland;
- Alliance Française de Cork was the very first AF in Ireland to launch French as a First Language courses for children;
- Alliance Française de Cork students and Cultural Supporters get access to our library;
- Alliance Française de Cork Cultural Supporters receive preferential invitations to our cultural events.

Alliance Française de Cork is a not-for-profit organisation.