During this year’s Cork Midsummer Festival, the nave of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral was transformed by a glorious glowing orb, a sun replica, which quickly became the talk of the town. Roughly 12,000 visitors came to the Cathedral in June to visit and to admire British artist Luke Jerram’s installation. Helios, is a six-and-a-half metre exact replica of the sun accompanied by a soundtrack including NASA recordings, birdsong, and other sounds from the natural world.

Jerram, who previously wowed Cork audiences with Gaia (an earth replica he installed in St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh in 2024) and Museum of the Moon (shown at MTU Bishopstown campus in 2017), is often described as working at the intersection of art and science. He is well-known for bringing art to a broad audience and hopes to prompt in them a sense of wonder at the known universe and to provoke important conversations about our place within it.

The hard-working team at St Fin Barre’s welcomed many thousands of extra visitors to the cathedral during the twelve-day run of Helios from the 9th to the 21st of June. Visitors ranged from the very young to the more advanced in years. Cathedral staff were delighted to accommodate numerous groups of school children as well as children and adults with special needs and disabilities. Despite the soaring visitor numbers, the atmosphere inside the cathedral remained tranquil, with a near constant stream of people sitting and even lying beneath the sun, deep in contemplation.

Some special evening events were held beneath Helios, each of which was sold out well in advance. Irish composer, Amanda Feery performed her thought-provoking piece Nest to an appreciative audience, and music producer, Cian Sweeney offered a piano meditation which incorporated guided meditations and breath work into an improvised piano performance. For the more astronomically minded visitors there was an evening talk entitled Cosmos. During this presentation Blackrock Castle Observatory’s lead astronomer Alan Giltinan inspired and delighted attendees as he shared some incredible insights into the lesser-known aspects of outer space.

Luke Jerram’s Helios was presented collaboratively by St Fin Barre’s Cathedral and Cork Midsummer Festival and was kindly supported by Cork City Council and Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Photos: St Fin Barre’s Cathedral