Queen Of The Sea Family Fun Festival

Youghal ‘Queen of the Sea’ Festival – Elegance with Fun!


Youghal, Co. Cork confirmed its status and designation by Failte Ireland as a ‘centre of excellence’ in family fun with its 2nd Family Fun Festival over the weekend (15th – 17th July). A truly action packed festival programme of free family entertainment drew a crowd of in excess of 8,000 visitors to the coastal resort over the course of the weekend.

Events which kicked off in style on Friday evening, with a ‘Mardi Gras’ parade setting the seaside town ablaze with colour. Highlights of the parade included the contestants in the ‘Queen of the Sea’ competition as they cruised through the town in a range of vintage cars, led out by the nationally renowned ‘Youghal Pipe Band’. It was all about food food food on Saturday however, with TV celebrity chef Rachel Allen on hand to open the outdoor food emporium. Over 40 food and craft producers served breakfast, brunch and lunch to the hungry festival goers, with media sponsors 96 FM broadcasting live only adding to the atmosphere!

Sal Tivy, Festival Chairperson commented on the festival weekend saying: “This year’s festival can be summed up as ‘elegance with fun’ in my opinion. Thousands of people came to Youghal over the course of the weekend and we truly had something for everyone. There was a ‘buzz on the streets’ in Youghal again, something the town badly has been missing. Hopefully, local traders reaped the economic benefits of the influx of visitors to the town. We have now established one of the finest festivals in the country, which I have no doubt in the coming years, is set to rival the ‘Rose of Tralee’ said Sal.



Saturday night saw the crowning of Youghal’s very own ‘Queen of the Sea’; 19 year old Kate Mulcahy - who represented The Quay’s Bar, Youghal. Kate was presented with a cheque for €500, along with a perpetual trophy. The Queen of the Sea Competition was generously sponsored by Youghal Credit Union. Sponsor cards taken by which each queen raised badly needed funds for ISPCC’s Childline and the local RNLI.



‘Sunday was Funday in Greekpark with the first dog show in Youghal in over 20 years attracting tens of happy hounds to the park. Shrieks of laughter could be heard all over as couples battled each other and the obstacle course to claim the title in the ‘wife carrying competition’.

A new and exciting addition to this year’s event was the ‘Myrtle Groove’ gig rig, with live performances from quality bands and musicians all weekend long. The internationally renowned ‘Kila’ took to the stage and received a rapturous welcome from crowds on Saturday evening. At the closing ceremony of the event, Sal Tivy paid tribute to the hard-working committee who worked behind the scenes to make the event possible. “They were a small, but magnificent hard working team. I would personally like to express my thanks and say it was these people who made it such a successful event for Youghal. I would like to say it was my privilege to have worked with them.” The Festival Committee wishes to thank the townspeople of Youghal and all its sponsors for their support of this event.