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