Lesbian and frolics
In 2020, the name was changed from Cork Women’s Fun Weekend to Cork Women’s Weekend. The name change did not reflect a desire for less fun at the weekend, but was motivated by practical considerations in changing the logo. The organisers explained the change: “ In a committee meeting in 2020, we discussed updating the logo to something more identifiable and consistent to go on all our social media posts, letters, emails etc. We wanted something that we could use on merchandise down the line to create more income to increase the very limited budget
of undiluted bacchanalian revelry, then Cork and the Festival is the place to be.” While regretting taking on the Cork women in a soccer match the Belfast women clearly had a good time: “be prepared to laugh, smile, guffaw, giggle, relax and enjoy yourself in the company of women who understand the power of women’s pleasure.” The Cork Women’s Fun Weekend has become one of the key events in the Irish lesbian calendar. In a presentation at the 2000 woodwork to join in a weekend of fun and frolics in Cork. The Cork Women’s Weekend is one of those events and opportunities we create for the exploration, expression and celebration of lesbian culture – the kinds of events which recharge our batteries and give us the strength and motivation for political activity and for negotiating the daily stresses and perils of living in a society which does not support us as lesbians. Events which are time out from that, time that is lesbian centred and, most importantly, time that is fun.” Lesbian Lives conference in UCD, I spoke about the Cork Women’s Fun Weekend: “Every year in the middle of May lesbians come out of the The Cork Women’s (Fun) Weekend has been held in various venues, with varying degrees of welcome. The Friday and Saturday night socials were held in Connolly Hall, Windsor Hotel, Moore’s Hotel, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Silversprings, the Pav, Chambers, the Metropole, The Address and the Hanover. The hotels welcomed us back year after year, but in Pairc Ui Chaoimh we received a hostile reception once they realised that the place was full of lesbians. Day time events have been held in the Quay Co-op, School of Commerce, South Parish Community Centre and LINC. The pub quiz was held in Loafers bar until it closed in 2015 (the day after my team won the Women’s Weekend pub quiz!). It was held in Ted’s bar and is now held in the Spailpín Fánach. The weekend has been organised over the years by various groups of hard-working volunteers.
male partners and friends. As Joan McCarthy commented; “We were terrified we wouldn't have enough folk to justify booking Connolly Hall. But it worked!” In subsequent years the social was a women-only event. Cork women’s band Standing Ovulation performed at the first Women’s Fun Weekend social. A few years later another Cork band Brazen Bitch played at the Saturday social. A report on the 10th Cork Women’s Fun Weekend in Munster GCN discussed the beginning of the Fun Weekends in 1984: “That was an era of serious politics. Questions about contraception, abortion, divorce and the most elementary rights for lesbians and gays were the focus of virtually every meeting then. The Fun Weekend aimed to provide a space to recognise and celebrate the identity, culture and community that women were creating. A measure of its success has been the emergence of similar events in other places.” Writing in 1988, Deirdre stated that the “Women’s Fun Weekend was a time when women from all over Ireland, and the rest of the world, come together in Cork to celebrate women’s culture and generally to have some fun. It’s a time to take a break from meetings, campaigns, housework, homework, all work and any kind of daily drudge. We intend it to be a weekend off for women and it is hoped also that it is an effective way of recognising our strength as women and of appreciating ourselves.” Women have travelled from all over Ireland and abroad for the Cork Women’s (Fun) Weekend. It helped to forge and foster relationships between women from Cork, Belfast, Galway, Dublin, London etc. Cork women who had emigrated would return for the Fun Weekend, bringing friends with them from their new homes, facilitating connections and crosspollination of ideas, politics, friendship and relationships between the Cork community and international lesbian and bisexual communities. There is a Cork joke, based on some truth, that many women came to Cork for the Fun Weekend and just never went home. A gang of Belfast women would travel to Cork for the Women’s Fun Weekend. An article in Belfast Women’s News describes the 1987 trip to Cork: “There is in this city of Belfast an intrepid, indefatigable band of women who fearlessly seek out in the interests of sisterhood and the progress of feminism, new hedonistic experiences which challenge women’s energy and stamina. An example of their commitment to the task was their recent excursion to the Cork Women’s Fun Festival. And the news they bring back is that if you want to subject yourself to two days and nights
CORK WOMEN’S (FUN) WEEKEND & CORK LESBIAN FANTASY BALL
Orla Egan (she/her), Cork LGBT Archive
This year marks 40 years since the beginning of the annual Cork Women’s (Fun) Weekend and 30 years since the first Cork Lesbian Fantasy Ball. The first Cork Women’s Fun Weekend was held 13 th -15 th April 1984. Remarkably the Cork Women’s Weekend is still running! The first weekend in May brings women from Ireland and abroad to Cork for fun and frolics. It is a social weekend with dancing, music, workshops, sporting events and an infamous pub quiz. An article on the 10th Cork Women’s Fun Weekend in the March 1993 Munster GCN described the weekend as “the time for fun, friends and fancy to come together.” The 1984 Cork Women’s Fun Weekend was organised by the women in the Women’s Place in the Quay Co-op. Commenting on the beginnings of the Cork Women’s Fun Weekend in the 1980s, Helen Slattery says,
we had for the weekend. We wanted to incorporate the rainbow colours, an image of a strong woman and the name of the weekend. In changing the logo and trying to make the existing name work around the logo, we discussed removing the word 'Fun'. So we modified the name to Cork Women's Weekend. In posting the modified name it was evident not everyone was happy with the change. Some views were expressed and were taken on board. It was suggested we set up a poll so the community could vote and be part of the decision. So that's what we did and the community voted for the change. And since then there has been much support for the modified name & logo.” 40 years after the first Cork Women’s Fun Weekend in 1984, the weekend of fun is still happening, thanks to the work of the current team, Sandra, Andrea and Sinead. They comment that “The weekend is very important to us as a committee and we only want to do things in the best interest of the weekend and its attendees. We feel privileged as volunteers to temporarily hold the torch for the Institution that is The Cork Women's Weekend. We hope to see it evolve and flourish for another 40 years and beyond.”
“There was a lot of heavy-duty political women’s conferences and discussions going on, and as an antidote we decided to have a weekend of just fun.”
Joan McCarthy was also involved in organising the first Women’s Fun Weekend in 1984. She recalls that “The Women's Fun Weekend, emphasis on Fun, was started as an antidote to the earnestness of our feminist political campaigning work. We organised the first Women's Fun Weekend in the middle of a severe economic recession and just a year after the defeat of the Anti-Amendment Campaign and the insertion of the 1983 amendment to the constitution. We wanted to focus on activities that celebrated women and were about music, joy, sport and craic. For example, we invented a pub quiz that focussed on women's achievements in literature, film and sport etc. as opposed to the usual pub quizzes at the time that hardly referred to women at all.” The daytime events at the first Cork Women’s Fun Weekend were held in the Quay Co-op, with a social held in Connolly Hall on the Saturday night. This Saturday night social was mixed, with lesbian, bisexual and straight women along with
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