Meitheal Mara

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 & 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿
Meitheal Mara is looking for an experienced event professional to lead the planning and delivery of Ocean to City – An Rás Mór, while overseeing our coordination of Cork Harbour Festival.

The role involves managing events of significant scale:
- 600+ Ocean to City participants
- Ireland’s largest multi-craft rowing and paddling race
- 100+ Cork Harbour Festival events
- 50+ festival partners across Cork City and Harbour
- 30,000 festival visitors
- From across Ireland and overseas

This is a hands-on management role covering event planning and delivery, staff and volunteers, partnerships, suppliers, budgets, funding and reporting.

The successful candidate will work year-round with Meitheal Mara staff, volunteers and a wide range of partners across Cork’s maritime, sporting, cultural and community sectors.

Cork City | 32 hours per week
Applications close 18 October 2026.
Full job description and application details are on https://corkharbourfestival.com/recruiting-festival-events-manager/

t h a n k s - f o r - s h a r i n g

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 & 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿

Meitheal Mara is looking for an experienced event professional to lead the planning and delivery of Ocean to City – An Rás Mór, while overseeing our coordination of Cork Harbour Festival.

The role involves managing events of significant scale:

- 600+ Ocean to City participants
- Ireland’s largest multi-craft rowing and paddling race
- 100+ Cork Harbour Festival events
- 50+ festival partners across Cork City and Harbour
- 30,000 festival visitors
- From across Ireland and overseas

This is a hands-on management role covering event planning and delivery, staff and volunteers, partnerships, suppliers, budgets, funding and reporting.

The successful candidate will work with Meitheal Mara staff, volunteers and a wide range of partners across Cork’s maritime, sporting, cultural and community sectors.

Cork City | 32 hours per week

Applications close 18 October 2026.

t h a n k s - f o r - s h a r i n g

Full job description and application details:

403 Forbidden

𝗢𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆!

Yesterday we marked European Week of Sport with Cork Sports Partnership, getting out on the water in the Fionnbarra, Meitheal Mara’s Bantry longboat.

It was brilliant to welcome a new group out on the water and introduce them to our flagship. A great afternoon of rowing, teamwork and fun on the river.

Well done to everyone who came along and got stuck in. We loved having you out with us and hope to see you back on the water again soon.

This Thursday! All aboard 💫

✨😁📢Come and try rowing the Fionnbarra with Meitheal Mara as part of European Week of Sport!

Date | 24th of September

Time | 1.30pm till 2.30pm

Venue | Lapp's Quay

🎯This event is open to everyone over the age of 16. An average level of fitness and agility is needed for entering and exiting the boat.

Register at the link below:
https://corksports.ie/latest-news/european-week-of-sport-fionnbarra-rowing-taster/

𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽

This new machine was dropped into the workshop last week. The first comment that came with it was:

“The new machine looks a little rusty, don’t you think?”

And yes, it does!

But it also comes with a bit of local history.

The machine belonged to Michael Dwyer, who had a workshop just across the river from Meitheal Mara. Michael has sadly passed away, but his old workshop is still there and visible from Crosses Green.

The machine has spent many years in a shed outside the city and has now made its way back to Cork, and back across the river to Crosses Green.

It’s a multi-purpose woodworking machine and, with a bit of work, we’re hoping to get it back into use in the workshop.

A little bit rusty, but hopefully plenty of life left in it yet!

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵...

As a community boatyard, Meitheal Mara runs boatbuilding programmes with a wide range of community groups.
Groups often start their boatbuilding journey with a plywood canoe or a Dunfanaghy currach. It’s a chance to get stuck in, work with your hands, learn new skills, work together as a team and, hopefully, discover that you can make something pretty amazing from a pile of timber!

Over the past few months, we’ve been delighted to have a group from Penrose Wharf National Learning Network in our workshop, building a Dunfanaghy currach using locally grown hazel rods.
And what a job they’ve done. The currach is now at the final stages of completion and is looking fantastic.

As we do with all our boat builds, once she’s finished we’ll organise a celebratory launch on the River Lee, giving everyone who helped build her the chance to take part in her maiden journey.

𝗔 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱. A Trojan effort has gone into this build, and the result is there for all to see.

We can’t wait to see her in the water!

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴!

We’re looking for a Programme & Progression Coordinator to join the team at Meitheal Mara.

This is a central role supporting learner progression, training quality, programme coordination and partnership development across our activities.

You’ll help participants move forward by developing progression pathways within Meitheal Mara, while also building relationships with external partners to create opportunities for education, training, work experience and personal development.

As this is a Community Services Programme (CSP) funded role, this recruitment competition is open to people from the CSP priority groups.

Interested? Find out more about the role and how to apply:

https://meithealmara.ie/recruiting-programme-and-progression-coordinator/

Please share with anyone who might be interested!

Home | Meitheal Mara - Community Boatyard Cork About Meitheal Mara – Community Boatyard Cork Founded in 1993, Meitheal Mara is a maritime cultural organisation and community boat yard on the River Lee in Cork city. We are a registered charity, a training Read more…

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗲

A couple of weeks ago we shared a post about our River Lee clean-up, and since then we received a very kind message from fellow Corkonian Pat, about yet another TFI bike in the river - this time just below the River Lee Hotel Bridge.

Our first thought was: goodness, how are we going to get that one out?

This particular stretch of the river is quite tricky. For those familiar with our CORKumnavigation water trail, you’ll know that this section is only really navigable at exactly the right time. The river needs to be high enough to get over the nearby weirs, but low enough to get under the bridges. Quite the feat!

So our trusty metal river clean-up boat doesn’t really make it into this part of the river. We gently let Pat know that we weren’t sure we’d be able to rescue the bike, but that we’d pass it on to our workshop team, just in case they had any ideas.

Well...

𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲.

No boat. No fancy equipment. They simply angled the bike from the bridge, hauled it up and pulled it safely back onto dry land.

And there it was!

Another TFI bike rescued from the River Lee. Sometimes you just need a bit of ingenuity, a good angle and two determined workshop legends.

Thanks to Pat for spotting it and getting in touch, and to Eddie and Adrian for figuring out a way to get it out.

And folks, please keep the river clear of bikes. They’re much happier on two wheels than two feet underwater.

And if you’re wondering just how tricky that stretch of river is, have a look at our CORKumnavigation water trail guide here: https://meithealmara.ie/shop/corkumnavigation-guide/

𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮

And similar to our last post - there’s also a LOT more happening in our workshop and boatyard than you might think.

Our workshop is where traditional boatbuilding skills, craftsmanship and creativity come together. From building and repairing currachs to working on wooden boats, woodcraft and all sorts of other projects, there’s always something being made or repaired.

𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗮𝘁

At the heart of the workshop is our traditional currach work... building, repairing and maintaining these remarkable boats and passing on the skills and knowledge needed to keep this part of Ireland’s maritime heritage alive.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁𝘀

Over the years, our workshop team have taken on some really interesting commissions, including the Belfast trusses for TEST SITE on Kyrls Quay and the wooden benches in the gardens of Nano Nagle Place.

There’s a huge variety of work that comes through the workshop doors. It’s all part of the practical, hands-on work that happens here at Meitheal Mara, using traditional skills while finding new ways to put them to use.

And, just like our sewing room, there are some great people behind all of this work.

And the best bit? 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 through our Community Employment Scheme. Pretty cool opportunities for anyone who enjoys working with their hands and making things.

Details in the comments.