Cork's Night Out Just Got Cheaper: €4 Parking for First Fridays This Bank Holiday Weekend

Cork city is rolling out the welcome mat this bank holiday weekend, with a sweet parking deal and a packed cultural programme to lure Leesiders into the city after dark.

Cork City Council is offering a flat €4 parking rate at the Paul Street car park from 5pm to midnight this Friday, 1 May, as part of its First Fridays initiative. The deal will run every First Friday right through to September, making it one of the better reasons to leave the car somewhere and actually enjoy the evening.

First Fridays, inspired by the success of Culture Night, launched in April and runs on the first Friday of each month until September 2026. The initiative is delivered through Cork City Council's City Centre Directorate, supported by the Night Time Economy Programme, which is funded through the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, and backed by Fáilte Ireland.

Fiona Collins, Night Time Economy Advisor, said:

"We were absolutely thrilled with the response to our first 'First Fridays' event in April – the feedback has been wonderful, and it really confirmed what we believed: that Cork has a vibrant, curious audience who want to experience their city in a new way after dark."

This month we've added even more events to the line-up, and the parking offer from Cork City Council is a real signal of the collective commitment to making the city centre a welcoming, accessible place to be."

So what's actually on? Plenty. Cornmarket Street hosts a night market from 5pm to 9pm, while the Butter Museum runs a Beltane Butter Supper Club from 4pm to 7pm, complete with storytelling, music, and yes, butter making. Elizabeth Fort stays open until 8pm, and Blackrock Castle Observatory opens its doors along the banks of the River Lee.

At Nano Nagle Place, an architectural tour led by Gareth O'Callaghan kicks off at 6pm, exploring the site's blend of 18th-century heritage and contemporary design. Dance Cork Firkin Crane presents Ciseach by Catherine Young at 7.30pm, described by premiere audiences as "really, really astounding" and "profoundly moving."

Rounding things out at Triskel Christchurch, Klostės, a 67-minute black and white experimental film by Cork-born artist Aideen Barry, screens free of charge from 10pm to 1am, no booking required. The film, commissioned by Kaunas 2022 European Capital of Culture, is part of the collection that helped earn UNESCO World Heritage Status for the Lithuanian city and was acquired by the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2024.

The full First Fridays line-up is available at purecork.ie/whats-on.