Bubba Shakespeare said he only wants to entertain, ‘not annoy people’
Bubba Shakespeare usually performs where Marlboro Street meets Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork city
A Cork City Councillor has launched a motion to revoke one of Cork city‘s most well-known buskers’ right to perform, citing “repeated failures” to keep his noise levels below the permitted limit.
Cllr Shane O’Callaghan has presented a motion to the City Council that performer Cian Morris, who goes by the stage name Bubba Shakespeare, should have both his street performance and amplification permits revoked. He said that Morris has “repeatedly failed to keep his noise levels below the permitted 75 decibels despite numerous requests for him to do so.”
Cllr O’Callaghan said that there have been concerns from local business owners who say it is “extremely difficult to work and do business due to the level of noise being generated” by the street singer. When contacted about the motion today, he told Cork Beo: “The word needs to get out there that there are consequences to breaching the rules.”
Morris, whose typical performance includes a speaker and microphone, said today he’s ‘not here to annoy people,’ adding that he would have no problem lowering the volume if he were ever asked.
The busker performs mainly on Oliver Plunkett Street, and is a recognisable figure in Cork’s busking scene. He told Cork Beo today: “I’m very accommodating, and my amp is just too small to be too loud. Or, if it ever was too loud, I would have turned it down as well. I’m here to entertain and make friends, not annoy people, but you can’t please everyone, and a broken clock is right twice a day. Some people just hate music, some people don’t like other people and will use anything as an excuse to tear them down. That’s just how it is.”
The motion to revoke Morris’s busking and amplification permits has been submitted to the Environment, Water & Amenity Strategic Policy Committee for consideration by January 2026.
Street performer bylaws were introduced by the Council in May 2024. All street performers require a permit and are allowed to perform across 23 designated locations in the city, for a maximum of two hours at any one spot. After two hours have elapsed, a busker must then move at least 50 metres from their original spot if they want to continue performing. They must also keep at least three metres clear of entrances to businesses and homes. Backing tracks are permitted, but performers’ sound levels must remain below 75dB in the surrounding area.
The bylaws were met with backlash from local performers before they were first rolled out, with artists saying they were like “an attack on buskers.” Bubba Shakespeare previously told CorkBeo in 2023 that many artists may have to stop busking entirely if strict bylaws are imposed. He said at the time: “Anytime someone complains about volume, I turn my speakers down. If there are certain spots you can perform and you can only be there for so long, people will just end up holding them for their friends or people they know. That’s what happens in Dublin. If you’re not in the clique, then you won’t get a chance to play.”
Cllr O’Callaghan’s motion was submitted to the Environment, Water & Amenity Strategic Policy Committee for consideration by January.