23-06-2025
Council issues €1.5m tender to manage St Patrick's Day and 'ad hoc' events in Cork City
Cork City Council is set to spend up to €1.5m for event management and security for the annual St Patrick's Day parade through the city.
In an invitation to tender, the council said it could also require services for 'ad hoc' events such as commemorations and visits to Cork from VIPs as part of the contract over the coming years.
This ad hoc work may include 'festival markets' in the city that may be held, while the contractor will also have to liaise with artists and musicians to perform at the events.
However, it stressed that its main requirements and the bulk of the spend will lie with the annual St Patrick's Day parade in March which attracts tens of thousands into the city centre.
At the most recent parade, up to 50,000 people turned out with one of the standouts being the inspirational Kabin Crew kids behind the viral hit of 2024 bringing The Spark to the people of Cork.
It said: '[It] is the central event of the Cork St. Patrick's Festival weekend that attracts up to 60,000 people to the City and between 3,000 to 3,500 participants in the parade.
The Kabin Crew kids leading Cork City's St Patrick's Day parade this year. The council's main requirements and the bulk of the €1.5m spend will lie with the annual parade in March. File photo: Darragh Kane
'Other annual events that the events section may deliver include an event to celebrate the switch on of the Christmas Lights and Cork Christmas Festival.
"This framework may be used by other sections of Cork City Council who deliver events such as the Carnival of Science, VIP visits, commemorations, etc, as well as other ad hoc events of various size and scale.'
In terms of event management the council will be paying for a supplier to manage the different participant groups in the parade, including collating applications from those who want to be in the parade.
It will also need to plan out the parade from start-to-finish, and liaise with services such as the gardaí and fire service while having first-aid and ambulances on standby across the event.
Security services will also need to be provided, such as event stewards and supervisors.
As well as that, it must also erect barriers for crowd control on Copley Street and Anglesea Street the day before the parade, as well as on South Mall and Merchants Quay on the day itself.
The council added that it wanted the supplier to develop 'concepts, identify and source suppliers, negotiate artists fees and advise of feasibility of programme ideas and concepts as they arise in conjunction with Cork City Council'.
While the initial contract is for 2026 only, Cork City Council said it may extend it into 2027, 2028 and 2029 also.
