Directed by Wolfgang Merkel and produced by Red Bull Media, the 25 minute document of this gruelling open water swimming challenge that focuses on Redmond’s attempts of the Tsugaru Channel in Japan as the crew of 5 hang on for their lives in the rough seas to film Ireland’s swimming icon as he was tossed and battered in the turbulent North Pacific seas will be screened at 6pm and afterwards festival goers will be able to learn more from the man himself as Aidan Stanley will be interviewing West Cork’s Steve Redmond.

Just a 20 minute drive from us here at the West Cork Hotel, the coastal village of Schull, the location of Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival is easily accessible from our hotel, which is suitably situated on the main N71 road overlooking the Ilen River.

A must do thing to do in West Cork for both locals and visitors in the area, the five day festival will show around 200 short films in a variety of venues throughout the village as well as many guest speakers, filmmakers, directors and producers sharing their experiences and the chance for younger festival goers to enjoy the family friendly fringe festival, which includes children’s films, puppet shows and workshops, storytelling and much more.

Just a 20 minute drive from us and taking place from 31st May – 3rd June, is the Festival by the Sea in Rosscarbery, an annual event taking place, a family festival featuring live music and plenty of family friendly activities.

Alternatively for those looking for a ‘whale’ of a time, a Whale Watching Weekend Course is taking place on 31st May – 2nd on the West Cork Island of Cape Clear. Organised by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, seeing these magnificent creatures is a must on the list of things to do in West Cork, and the course will focus on whale watching field-skills, species identification and cetacean ecology/biology and include lectures as well and land and boat based watches. Suitable for over 16s this is a magnificent opportunity to observe some of the 24 species of whales and dolphins that can be spotted along the south coast of Ireland. Ferries to Cape Clear leave from Baltimore, which is just short 15 minutes drive from the West Cork Hotel.

Slighter further and heading towards Cork, the Bandon Music Festival is also taking place over this weekend, with confirmed acts such as Irish Chart toppers Ryan Sheridan, Roy Seven and Frank and Walters performing.

With so much happening in one weekend in June within West Cork, there really is only one place to be!

Featuring traditional and folk music from around the world, the Baltimore Fiddle Fair is considered one of the things to do in West Cork and regarded as one of the best festivals in the country, by both musicians and audiences alike.

A must for all music lovers and renowned for attracting a world class line up at national and international acts, from as far as Australia, US, Japan, Mainland Europe and the UK, the Baltimore Fiddle Fair taking place from today (9th May) through to 13th May will include an array of musical concerts and gigs, workshops, session and exhibitions.

Our hotel in West Cork is ideal base for walkers, hikers and tourists alike to explore the rugged beauty of West Cork and to sample the many things to do in West Cork, including this new walking festival in the bustling market town of Bantry, which is already home to a successful literary and music festival.

Taking place on 1st and 2nd June, the new walking festival will enable walkers to make the most of some of the most exciting and unspoilt hiking trails the country has to offer including the Sheep’s Head Way, a ‘European Destination of Excellence’, the Beara Way, and a host of other walking routes.

During the festival, the walks on offer will provide spectacular views over Bantry Bay and across the three peninsulas for which Bantry provides the local hub, and walkers will get unparalleled opportunities to see the best of the Sheep’s Head, Beara and Mizen peninsulas on routes mapped out by local guides.

Festival-goers will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the historic sites on Whiddy Island, one of West Cork’s many island gems.  Its sites of historical interest include English gun batteries, as well as an abandoned seaplane base, and your guide will share the island’s stories with you while you explore its walking routes.

All walks will be led by expert local hikers, and each of them will share stories and local knowledge with you throughout the festival. Bantry’s famous bay is rich in history, as well as beauty, and biodiversity, and the Bantry Walking Festival offers visitors a great chance to try out the area’s many walking routes during an exhilarating and convivial weekend. Activities for the whole family will include a treasure trail, and family walks, and a pub crawl is also rumoured to be taking place for the older participants!

The first of these The Ballydehob Jazz Festival takes place within the picturesque village of Ballydehob between the 3rd & 6th of May. A boutique music festival that supports talented jazz musicians from Ireland and beyond, headline acts are carefully selected to appeal to those who enjoy current trends and those who love dance floor standards and world-class artists play in the Community Hall.  Local and national artists perform in the popular Pub Trail along the main street. Families take in the scenery whilst enjoying the Saturday and Sunday afternoon open air stage and market where the music is lively and may even include street performers and dancers. Intimate concerts are hosted in cafes, churches and schools where one can enjoy performances in a warm, relaxed environment. Each year the festival hosts a special Community Care concert for the benefit of older members of the community. This popular event takes place on Saturday morning, includes tea and sandwiches, and is also open to the public at large. Exciting fringe events are a growing feature. Building on this success 2013 will enjoy more youth gigs, more workshops and the introduction of visual art exhibitions and performances in poetry and dance.

Later in the month, Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival takes place between the 22nd & 26th which offers visitors a unique take on the short film festival with no dedicated cinema! Visitors will experience Distributed Cinema, Schull’s very own intranet network dedicated to short film. From a horse box (with HD streaming) to a micro cinema (with eye-piece), several marquees (with projector & screen) to a cycling cinema (6 bikes / 12 legs), from a bookshop (HD streaming) to the village hall (HD Projection) and to numerous local pubs and restaurants, Schull’s network connects, through Ethernet cable and wireless links, to its own short film archive on a dedicated server. Over 4 days, the festival screens all of its competition films throughout the village of Schull and the 9 dedicated intranet Wi-Fi hotspots, enable access to 500+ submission films and interviews from its archive. These are available free from within the network of Schull to anyone with a laptop, an iPad, or a smart phone or at any of the connected venues. The fringe events offer activities for all the family such as puppet shows to children’s cinema, storytelling, drama workshops, the infamous Horror Horse-Box, Sunday Market, BBQ, live music and much more.

To cap off the month there is the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, taking place in the picturesque fishing village of Baltimore and located just 15 minutes drive from us at the West Cork Hotel. Happening between the 24th & 26th this festival celebrates traditional wooden built boats including the working boats of Roaringwater Bay and is a great weekend of racing and events that is run in conjunction with the Baltimore Seafood Festival.

Supporting local and international talent and enticing jazz musicians from all over Ireland and beyond, the Ballydehob Jazz Festival is known for its wonderful music and exciting fringe festival events.

This year looks set to be no different, and yet again the Ballydehob Community Hall will be transformed in a jazz club to hold up to 400 people to play host to local and national artists. Live music shall also take place in the form of small intimate concerts will be hosted in cafes, bars, churches and schools around the village and their shall be plenty of fringe activities such as youth gigs, workshops, arts exhibitions, performances, poetry and dance.

One of the must do things to do in West Cork, the the line up recently announced, there is an array of free and ticketed music events taking place, including headline acts Swingin’ Bluecats and Neil Cowley Trio, as well as many more fantastic artists such as Tuxedo Jazz, Stanza Traffic, CoCoMoJo, Carolyn Quartet and East Coast Jazz Band to name but a few.

On Sale and available to buy from today, the Bridgestone Guides are culminations of the editor’s quests to find the people and places within Ireland’s hospitality industry that provide a pure and simple unrivalled customer service to all guests and patrons.

To be included in the Bridgestone Guides again this year represents the guarantee that we are providing the very best service and produce, and we are truly honoured and delighted that our hotel in West Cork has been included again within the 2013 Bridgestone Guide, which features the very best in Ireland.

Earning a reputation as one of the biggest classical music events in Ireland each year, this year’s festival shall see over a hundred musicians playing over one hundred works from more than fifty composers during the festival.

Offering music that originates from Romania and Poland, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Estonia and Britain as well as music from the United States, Australia, Turkey and Russia; the festival will be a truly global classical music event and will comprise of a number of intimate concerts that will take place in venues around the picturesque waterfront town of Bantry.

With a packed programme of events planned and many top names from the world of music on the bill, there will be performances by three of Europe’s finest violinists; Britain’s Nicola Benedetti, the Ukrainian-born Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman and the Finnish performer Pekka Kuusisto. There shall also be music by Romanian composer Georg Enescu, as well as music from festival favourites Quatuor Danel from Belgium and Spain’s Cuarteto Casals and new comers the Kelemen Quartet from Hungary and the Jupiter Quartet from the United States.

One of the must do things to do in West Cork, this wonderful music concert in Bantry is just a 20 minutes drive from our hotel in West Cork, making us the ideal location for your stay in the area to enjoy the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and explore the picturesque region.

Festivities kick off on Saturday, 16th March, with a Farmers Market in Fair Field from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. which will be showcasing the best of West Cork produce for visitors to discover and for any looking to sample some of this delicious West Cork food used within some fine cuisine, why not join us at the West Cork Hotel for lunch or dinner in our Kennedy Restaurant in Skibbereen.

With entertainment happening throughout town in the evening, there is the opportunity for those wishing to continue the celebrations well into the night to join us at The West Cork Hotel as we will be hosting an Over 25′s Disco “Reeling in the Years” from 10 p.m. until the early hours of the morning!

Sunday Mass will be available at 11.30 a.m. at both St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Abbeystrewry Church. But the main event will of course be the St. Patrick’s Day Parade which takes place on Sunday, 17th March, at 2.30 p.m. from the Cork Road, and will pass the West Cork Hotel, continuing onto the Fair Field.  There are more groups than ever due to take part in the parade this year which should make it the perfect occasion to bring the whole family.  The Skibbereen Community Choir will provide the musical backdrop for revellers when they perform at Fairfield following the Parade and there will be live entertainment in our Ilen bar for all residents to enjoy and revel in the Paddy’s Day atmosphere.

Festivities will continue on Monday, 18th March, with traditional Irish brunch and Jazz music from 11 a.m. until 2.00 p.m. at the West Cork Hotel. So if you are planning on travelling to West Cork over the St. Patrick’s weekend then why not avail of The West Cork Hotel’s special St. Patrick’s Weekend offer for 2 night B&B, which includes breakfast each morning and a complimentary Pint of Guinness or Irish Coffee upon arrival. For further information on this special St. Patrick’s Weekend offer please contact us on 028 21277 or info@westcorkhotel.com.

Prior to the parade there will be Irish music sessions performed on the street which should add to the festive atmosphere around the hotel. Following the Parade there will be live entertainment in our bar in Skibbereen for all to enjoy and revel in the Paddy’s Day atmosphere, which is likely to continue on till late in the evening, so if you are planning on travelling to West Cork over the St. Patrick’s weekend then why not avail of The West Cork Hotel’s special St. Patrick’s Weekend offer for 2 night B&B from which includes breakfast each morning and a complimentary Pint of Guinness or Irish Coffee on arrival.