about us
situated in the heart of cork city, we are
the little theatre with a big heart
Established in 1976 as a club by and for the arts community in Cork, the fondly named “CAT Club” quickly became a landmark, serving not only as a venue for amateur and professional companies alike, but also as the preferred meeting place and socialising hub for all arts enthusiasts.
From its humble beginnings The Cork Arts Theatre has grown from strength to strength under the direction of its dedicated members and the leadership of its artistic director and board of management.
In 2004, the theatre was finally granted funding for a long-needed refurbishment and the venue opened its brand new doors in November 2006 with a premiere performance of Patrick Galvin’s ‘The Cage’.
Since then The Cork Arts Theatre has been pioneering many initiatives, including outreach programmes, writer’s competitions, schools competitions and community drama festivals to make theatre more accessible to the whole community.
Nearly 50 years on since its inception, the Cork Arts Theatre continues to provide a vibrant programme of events and looks forward with great confidence to a vibrant future.
We are grateful to the Arts Council and Cork City Council for their valued support for the venue.
our team
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Theatre Manager: Fin Flynn
Technical Manager: Jamie Feehily
Executive Committee Members: Geoff Gould (Chair), Rodney Bolingbroke, Jamie Feehily, Fin Flynn, Kieran Galvin, James Horgan (Secretary), Suzanne Jones, Sonya Matthews (Treasurer).
our mission
Throughout its history, the Cork Arts Theatre has maintained two firm beliefs that have remained central to its mission.
The first is the belief that theatre can be of enormous benefit to those members of the community for whom it would not ordinarily be a resource. Our mission in this regard is to ensure that the venue remains accessible to as many creative groups and individuals as possible.
The second is the belief that the most thought-provoking theatre is created by artists working together in a spirit of mutual support and encouragement. The Cork Arts Theatre, with the support of the Arts Council, Cork City Council, the theatre staff and Executive Committee will strive to play its part in facilitating the creation of quality theatre with all the resources we have available.