Articles by Cathal Ryan

Technology

Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2025: Everything on over the long weekend

Cork City is buzzing this weekend as the 47th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival takes over every stage, street and corner of the city. The festival officially kicked off last night with electric performances from Chip Wickham, Jape, Projective, The Smithereens, Syano, Camrin Watson, Melina Malone, and The Tumbling Paddies, and a surprise performance from Lee Fields who’s headlining Cork Opera House Saturday night. From soulful legends to jazz innovators, hip-hop heroes to brass band showstoppers, the city’s venues are alive with sound. Here’s what to catch across this massive weekend of music, culture, and craic. Friday highlights – October 24 The weekend starts strong with Cymande bringing their iconic funk-soul rhythms to Cork Opera House this evening, alongside The Pharcyde, celebrating 30 years of Labcabincalifornia with support from Tu Ki and Summer Pearl. Rising star Sienna Spiro is expected to raise the roof in The Everyman, while Khakikid headlines Live at St Lukes. Stella Bass will channel the timeless elegance of Ella Fitzgerald at the Triskel Arts Centre, while King Kong Company light up Cyprus Avenue with their electrifying live show. In Cork City Hall, Feeder headline, and over at Kino, the Mo Cultivation Live Showcase features God Knows, Celaviedmai, and JarJarJr, followed by a late-night DJ takeover. Expect more big brass energy from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (with Rebel Brass) at Cyprus Avenue, and Dublon at the Liquid Lounge. Saturday highlights – October 25 Saturday is stacked with choice gigs. Lee Fields & The Expressions bring soul royalty to the Cork Opera House, with support from Toshín, another rising star, while Rejjie Snow headlines later that night. At The Everyman, JP Cooper and Luke Thomas & The Swing Cats will keep things smooth, and Daniel Herskedal Trio, Mås Exödus, and James Holden & Wacław Zimpel bring diverse sounds to the Triskel Arts Centre. The Sultans of Ping take over Cork City Hall with Pontious Pilate & The Naildrivers and Flywheel, while These Charming Men bring the music of The Smiths to the same stage. Elsewhere, Le Boom deliver dancefloor magic at Cyprus Avenue, The Congos bring reggae soul to Live at St. Luke’s, and Yankari Afrobeat Collective and TBL8 Brass and Lavery get Kino moving. Sunday highlights – October 26 Sunday brings global icons and Irish talent together. Orchestra Baobab headline at Cork Opera House with Annie & The Caldwells, followed by a powerhouse performance from Jeff Mills with Tomorrow Comes The Harvest. Over at The Everyman, don’t miss one of the biggest names in jazz Nubya Garcia who will bring her fierce, genre-pushing jazz. Another must is American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge, known for his cinematic, soulful sound that fuses jazz, hip-hop, funk, and classical influences. Maverick Sabre takes over Cyprus Avenue, and Khakikid returns to Live at St. Luke’s with new guests Chameleon and Ahmed, With Love. Triskel hosts Norma Winstone & Glauco Venier, Vallon-Michel-Rossy, and Elina Duni & Rob Luft Quartet. For late-night vibes, Ross From Friends brings Bubble Love to Cyprus Avenue, and Zaska (with Oceanna) keeps the groove alive at Kino. And Rory Gallagher: The Legend Lives On fills Cork City Hall with rock nostalgia. Monday finale – October 27 The final night keeps the energy sky-high, with Vieux Farka Touré bringing his Malian desert blues to Cyprus Avenue, followed by Partiboi69 to close out the festival with a full-throttle DJ set. Jazz on the streets and fringe fun Beyond the ticketed shows, the Guinness Jazz Trail brings live music to more than 70 pubs across the city, while the Big Fringe fills the streets with brass bands, parades, and spontaneous jam sessions. Don’t miss the Oliver Plunkett Street Jazz Stroll this evening (Friday, 6:30pm) or Jazz on the Plaza at the Superdome Stage (Saturday and Sunday). The brand-new local food market (Saturday and Sunday, 11am–7pm) is perfect for refuelling between gigs — and the Kinsale Fringe Festival ensures the jazz magic reaches the coast too. Finish it all off at the Festival Club in The Metropole Hotel, the original home of the Jazz Festival, where late-night sessions and surprise performances promise the kind of atmosphere only Cork can create. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here .

Technology

'A very spectacular sight' - Pilots baffled after 'bright object' spotted in skies above Ireland

Pilots flying over Irish airspace on Sunday night were stunned after spotting ‘swirling bright lights’ in the sky, which turned out to be a fuel dump from a SpaceX rocket launch. On Sunday, at around 6.30pm Irish time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried 28 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Some pilots flying over Ireland noted “bright lights, swirling and letting off gas” and what looked like an “explosion”, but the “spectacular sight” was actually a fuel dump from the SpaceX rocket. Editor of Astronomy Ireland , David Moore, who was watching the launch, explained that rockets always carry extra fuel in the case of an emergency, but to stop an explosion on re-entry, the leftover fuel is dumped - resulting in “impressive displays”. “It was a SpaceX rocket doing what is called a fuel dump,” David told the Irish Mirror . “I actually watched the launch from the USA online at 6.30pm but we did not expect the fuel dump over Irish skies! It's nothing too serious, but a very spectacular sight! “Basically they always put a bit more fuel into rockets than they need to cover any unforeseen circumstances. These lower stages of rockets don't make it into orbit and burn up on re-entry after a while. “To stop the leftover fuel from causing an explosion on re-entry they pump it overboard - a 'fuel dump'. The Sun, visible from that high up even though it is dark from Ireland, lights up this 'cloud' of fuel causing these impressive displays. “A lot of us (we have around 100,000+ followers) were out looking at the new Comet Lemmon that has just become visible to the naked eye (and will get five times brighter in the coming days). This comet is a very rare spectacle that we can, and did, predict, unlike fuel dumps!” Dedicated aviation journalist Shaun’s Aviation posted a snippet of a conversation between pilots and air traffic controllers on Sunday night, with one pilot describing it as an “explosion”, while another shared how it appeared like “bright lights”. Pilot: “Three yankee romeo request.” Air traffic control: “Alright, go ahead sir.” Pilot: “Just if you’re not busy, have you got any traffic significantly high above us in our 11 o’clock? Bright lights, swirling and letting off gas it looks like.” Air traffic control: “Ok, that’s a copy thank you”. Pilot two: “Yeah we are getting a plasma, that’s him. He’s moving now, to the east, explosion.” Air traffic control: “Ah who was that last call from please?” Pilot two: “That’s the Portugal 1325.” Air traffic control: “Portugal 1325, roger, I’m confirming you’re observing it now.” Pilot two: “It just disappeared now. It looks like an explosion and then it was moving eastward and now it’s disappeared.” Air traffic control: “Copy. Shamrock Three Yankee Zero, are you still observing anything? Pilot one: “Yeah it disappeared for us too, we started seeing it about two minutes ago. It’s illuminated very bright, and then kind of broke up into a circular array and disappeared.” Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here .