The 24th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival brought an estimated 40,000 visitors to the city and boosted the local economy by as much as £12 million over the past four days.
The autumn tourism fillip couldn't have been more welcome in the south, which has seen a drastic decrease in visitor numbers since September 11th. One of the casualties of this year's festival was the American Sixth Fleet Band, which cancelled at the last minute. The absence of US tourists who would normally be in Cork for the festival was also noticeable.
Nevertheless, every hotel and guest house in Cork reported a booming trade since the crowds - the bulk of them from Dublin - began to descend on the city on Friday. Irish Rail catered for an extra 12,000 passengers, and for those who didn't use the trains, finding parking spaces in a city completely given over to jazz proved a major logistical problem. But once solved, free entry to concerts, with the exception of the headline venues, was available just about everywhere.
Some 40 pubs in Cork were linked to the jazz trail this year, offering jazz to suit all tastes. As always, the Opera House was the main venue, while the festival club was at the Metropole Hotel. Jazz cinema, jazz for younger people and jazz shop window competitions also formed part of the event.
Even in the midst of the cheerful jazz bedlam, an odd oasis of calm could be found. O'Keeffe's Bar in Leitrim Street, just a stone's throw from Murphy's Brewery, was one such location.
The locals in O'Keeffe's preferred to stick with soccer and were delighted to accept the free pints which Murphy's offered in the bar yesterday.
More than 100 bands and 1,500 musicians gathered for the festival to provide a stunning array of talent, from the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to guitarist Jim Hall, Courtney Pine and the Buster Williams Trio. Many other musicians arrived to join the impromptu sessions in the pubs, which makes this festival the most accessible of its kind.
Cork is now rated the number three jazz festival in the world, according to Guinness, and its future seems assured. Fringe events in towns such as Kinsale and Cobh are now firmly established, giving the festival extra drawing power.
The festival works hard at bringing the music to all the people. An example was the jazz parade yesterday which featured the Garda Band and 100 art groups. The parade, organised by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, was a belated treat for the city, which had to forego this year's St Patrick's Day Parade because of the foot-and-mouth threat.