30 July 2026By Mary Bermimghammary@TheCork.ieThe Kinsale Regatta Festival over the August Bank Holiday is a feastof family fun, with all events free of charge thanks to the generosityof Cork County Council and the many local businesses and individualswho support the event. Festival Chairman Frank O’Brien said theKinsale Regatta is the oldest event of its kind in Ireland, firstestablished 228 years ago, and has been run by the people of Kinsalesince 1923. Mr O’Brien alsoannounced that Sailability would once again be the regatta charitypartner, and welcomed the revival of the famous Kinsale Regatta RNLIRaft Race from the Bulman to the Pier. Other highlights include theKinsale Regatta 5 Mile Road Race, with 1,000 top class athletes fromIreland, Europe and the USA taking part, and the famous Water Carnivalon Bank Holiday Monday with the Greasy Pole, Pillow Fighting, andchildren’s games. All the trophies would be displayed in thewindow of the Commercial Hall, and tenders would come down from CorkHarbour with hundreds of people on board to watch the yacht races.