The Cork Mother Jones Committee announces that the 2026 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival will be held in and around the Shandon Historic Quarter over three days and nights from Thursday 23rd July until Saturday 25th July.
Bernie and Jane Sanders toast Mother Jones at the plaque.
According to James Nolan, spokesperson for the festival,
“We are happy to confirm that our 15th Annual Spirit of Mother Jones Festival will once again take place in the Shandon Historic Quarter in 2026.This inspiring festival is dedicated to trade union leader and social justice advocate Mother Jones, who was born Mary Harris in Shandon in 1837 and who has become an international symbol for human rights across the world.
This festival celebrates her life and achievements and supports the causes she fought for as the 100th Anniversary of her death in 1930 approaches.
The 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Award was presented to Arthur Leahy. Included in the photograph is Cork’s own Mother Jones, Joan Goggin.
Organised by a voluntary committee, it remains open and free to all and attracts large numbers of visitors to our community annually.
We were overjoyed that US Senator Bernie Sanders came to Shandon in May to visit the community and walk the streets and in the footsteps of Mary Harris.
We acknowledge the practical support and encouragement of the Irish trade union movement and the assistance of the Cork City Council which enables the festival to produce a varied and challenging programme of events each year.We will announce participants and speakers over the coming months.”
Mexican Community Dancers accompanied by trade union leader, Mick Lynch at the Dance Cork Firkin Theater during the 2025 Festival.
The Cork Mother Jones committee is again inviting people to suggest ideas for topics at next year’s festival. These should relate to labour and trade union matters, its heritage and history, social justice and human rights issues. Potential speakers might also contact the committee if they feel they would like to address a related topic at the festival and summer school itself. Material must be relevant, interesting and challenging as debate and discussion is encouraged. All suggestions are considered by the voluntary committee and the closing date is 14th February 2026.
United States senator Bernie Sanders and Jane O’Meara Sanders arrived on Shandon Street to huge applause today.
Waiting for Bernie on Shandon Street. J. Nolan.
Bernie and Jane were paying a courtesy call to the Spirit of Mother Jones HQ on Shandon Street where they met members of the Cork Mother Jones Committee and friends of our festival. James and Marie Nolan welcomed our American guests to their local butcher shop which has been on the street since the 1800s and has served as the gathering point for planning the festival which has been held annually since 2012. James is one of the founder members of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.
Left to Right: James Nolan, Jane O’Meara Sanders, Senator Bernie Sanders and Marie Nolan. Photo (Mary Dineen).
Bernie stepped inside the counter and admitted that this was a first for him in his career as the longest serving Independent senator in United States congressional history. He examined a wide selection of Cork products and checked out the local bodice.
Is that enough bodice for your tea? Photo: Angela Flynn.
Cork Mother Jones Committee member Ann Piggott then proceeded to make a number of presentations to the Sanders family. Among the items was a copy of the Frameworks Films produced Mother Jones and Her Children, a festival poster and Elliott J. Gorn’s biography of Mother Jones.
In addition Ann produced some Cork treats of a bottle of Tanora, chester cakes (donkeys gudge) and some Tayto crisps, as a symbol of a special Cork welcome which she presented to the Sanders and were very appreciated by Bernie and Jane.
Bernie with Mother Jones Committee at presentation. Photo (Mary Dineen).
During a brief account of the extraordinary and long life of Mother Jones by committee member Ger O’Mahony, a number of interesting connections between Bernie and the Mother Jones family were revealed. Back in May 26th 2015 Bernie Sanders made his formal announcement that he was running for president of the United States on the waterfront park on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont which he had helped to create while he was the proud Mayor first elected in 1981 of his hometown. He was re-elected three times during his tenure and served until 1989 after which he was elected to Congress.
Exactly a decade after announcing his presidential run, almost to the day (27th May 2025), Bernie Sanders was standing in Shandon, the home of Mother Jones.
Amazingly it was from here in Shandon in the heart of Cork City that Richard Harris and his son Richard junior, the father and brother of Mary Harris (Mother Jones) left to go to Canada on the infamous coffin ships in the late 1840s, probably during “Black 47”. According to author Elliott Gorn, the Harris men first appeared in the 1850 US census as living in Vermont in Bernie’s own town Burlington. Boarding with a local family, they were described as Illiterate and propertyless. In an era of fluid borders, the Harris’s had initially travelled into the United States to Burlington just over the border from Canada where they spent some time after emigrating from Cork .
By the time Richard’s wife Ellen Harris along with the remaining family members including Mary arrived from Ireland in the early 1850s, the Harris family had left Burlington and moved back to Canada to Bathurst Street in Toronto, where young Mary Harris grew up and was educated.
Jane and Bernie at the Mother Jones plaque for the first time. Photo (Angela Flynn).
Everyone then strolled through the ancient and historic streets of Shandon where a young Mary Harris may have walked to assemble at the plaque of Mother Jones erected in 2012 by the Cork Mother Jones Committee.
Jane and Bernie. The famous Shandon Bells can be seen in the background. Photo by Angela Flynn.
From underneath the plaque Bernie addressed the crowd,
” Now is the time to fight for the living. Seeing massive concentrations of wealth and power of a handful of multi-billionaires who literally want to control not just the United States but the entire world, who couldn’t care less about working people……they want it all”
“It is imperative that we stand together as what we see in the United States today will be in Europe and Ireland tomorrow”.
Bernie Sanders. Photo: Mary Dineen.
Calling for international solidarity he continued
“We must remember our common humanity, all the children of the world have a right to live, with food and with education, security and that we must strive for a world of peace and not war. There is an enormous amount of work in front of us, Let’s stand together and let’s do it.”
Jane added
“It’s wonderful to be here to commemorate Mother Jones. What she stood for in terms of workers rights in terms of protection of the children is very much in our feeling of what are the priorities of life. Thank you for welcoming us to Cork on such an auspicious occasion”
Committee member William Hammond then sang the ballad of Joe Hill and concluded with a rendering of Salonika to rapturous applause.
And the meeting concluded with the traditional whiskey toast at the Mother Jones plaque led by Bernie and Jane.
Toast to Mother Jones at the plaque. Bernie, Jane and members of the Cork Mother Jones Committee (Photo by Andrew Desmond).Bernie Sanders at the Mother Jones plaque. Photo: Angela Flynn.President Michael D. Higgins with US Senator, Bernie Sanders.Bernie and Jane with the local community Gardaí. Photo: Angela Flynn.
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival takes place from Thursday 24th July until Saturday 26th July 2025.
Full programme of events will be available on this site by mid June or thereabouts.
