The Cork Folk Festival has played an integral part in the history of Cork music since 1979. Over a period of 45 years it has presented an annual festival which encourages musicians, enchants audiences and contributes to the cultural life of Cork City. This book is the story of the Cork Folk Festival. It collates all the elements that made the festival; the programmes, the posters, the photographs, the press reports and the personal memories of volunteers.

This is an honest account of what happened over the 45 years, and it documents all the highs and lows. The book contains a chapter for each festival, an index of where and when each of the 1126 artists, 350 groups and bands appeared at the festival, and a selected discography of Cork LPs, cassettes and CDs released from 1929 to 2024.