In Part 1… We’re at Manchester Hall with a host of Mayors and Councillors for an event organised by Sarah Mangan, Consul General of Ireland to the North of England. Taking place just before St Patrick’s day, this evening of entertainment is an opportunity for Ireland to say “thank you” to all those that made the UK their home and supported their families back across the Irish Sea. Guest speaker, Norma Foley, Ireland’s Minister for Education pays tribute to those that sacrificed everything to support themselves and their loved ones in the days before Ireland’s prosperity.

With traditional Pipe music from Fianna Phadraig Pipe Band and dynamic traditional dance from the Ward-Mallinson School of Irish Dance, it’s an empowering evening.

In Part 2… We’re at the Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery in Rawtenstall as they set up for a St Patrick’s Day “weekend” art installation centred on Michael Davitt and featuring the words of Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland. This carving, created by Noah Rose features an exchange of stone from the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, Co. Mayo. We chat with Noah and the museum’s Creative Director, Gaynor Saville.

For more information…

Ward-Mallinson Dance on Facebook

http://www.fiannaphadraigpipeband.org/

www.thewhitaker.org

www.michaeldavittmuseum.ie

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

It’s cold and windy! It must be the St Patrick’s Day parade in Manchester. Despite the decidedly Mancunian weather, the community turned out to celebrate Ireland’s Patron Saint, braving strong winds and evil temperatures.

Starting with Mass at the Irish World Heritage Centre, we were joined by a host of VIPs including Sarah Mangan, Consul General of Ireland and a small army of Mayors and Sheriffs!

We spoke with Parade sponsor, Aidan McGeary of Blue Machinery and also Fr Ray of St Chads, who has been “bringing out” St Patrick for a good few years.

Lots of colourful floats, excited people and all round good will.

For more information…

Irish World Heritage Centre… https://iwhc.com

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

This week, we’re in London at the Clayton Hotel celebrating with Parnells GAA at their annual dinner dance. Formed in 1951, Parnells are a Gaelic football club based in North West London.

The club is flourishing and thriving, with a membership of over 500. There is a lively social side with annual dinner dances, along with golf days and fundraising events that are always great occasions.

Parnells is family orientated and welcomes members from all backgrounds, anywhere in the UK, Ireland and anywhere else in the world!

We chat with club president Willie Moffat, chairman Dennis Diggins and many of those that make the club what it is today.

Parnells GAA can be easily found on Facebook and at parnellsgaa.com or call 07803 415358

For more information…

Music by Peppered Aces

Irish dancing by Murchu Duiginn School of Irish Dancing

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

In Part 1… Pat Fallon from Rochdale is 90 but it’s hard to believe! Watch the man go! Dancing like a 20 year old, singing, telling tall tales; he’s certainly got it all going at 90! We chat with Pat and his daughters about his busy life and being a weightlifting champion back in the day.

A great day of entertainment with song, dance and comedy, courtesy of Jimmy Cricket.

In Part 2… Across to the Warrington Irish Club and Sam Maguire drops by for a visit. In case you didn’t know, Sam is the solid silver trophy awarded to the All Ireland Football Champions. Not often out of Ireland, Sam makes a whistle-stop tour of the North of England and spends a day in Warrington along with his personal escort, Dave McEneaney.

Martin Lonergan of the Warrington GAA managed to secure the visit and we talk to him about the significance of Sam stopping by.

The club is packed full of people wanting to have their photo taken with Sam along with Jacqeline Brereton, club manager and Sean Hopkins, President of the GAA in Britain.

For more information…

Warrington Irish Club and GAA can be found on Facebook

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

This week we’re at the Irish Embassy in London at an event hosted by the Deputy Irish Ambassador, Orla McBreen. The day was organised to celebrate the Nottingham St Patrick’s Day Festival and pay tribute to all those that have contributed to its success over the years.

We speak to Gerry Molumby about organising such a complex festival and hear from the Chairman of the Nottingham Irish Centre, Pat Murphy about their plans to upgrade the Centre.

No Nottingham event would be complete without Robin Hood and the Sheriff and both make an appearance.

Great music from Roisin Hickey, Sean Cannon and Louis Walsh make the day a memorable event.

Nottingham’s festival takes place on Sunday 17th March in the Market Square from 11.30 and is free to attend.

For more information…

If you think you may be able to help with Nottingham’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations go to www.nottinghamstpatricksfestival.org.uk

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

In Part 1… We’re in Huddersfield with Rebecca Kane, of Kane Irish Dance, to see her receive an Excellence in Teaching Award. Presented by the Lord Mayor of Kirklees, Cahal Burke, this award is a global recognition of excellence and clearly shows Rebecca to be at the top of her game. With live music from Michelle O’Leary and an interview with the leader of Kirklees council, Belfast born Catherine Scott, it’s a festival of “Irish-ness”.

In Part 2… Across to Manchester to meet Cath Noone and her husband Pat. Cath has been a volunteer for the last 50 years and has given so much to the local community. Her and Pat have many stories to tell about moving to England and meeting up. We hear from Patrick Morrison from Irish Community Care as he explains why Cath has received a life-time achievement award and the importance of volunteering.

Fancy volunteering for Irish Community Care in Manchester? Call 0161 205 9105

For more information…

Kane Irish Dance is on Facebook and kaneirishdance.com

Irish Community Care Manchester is on Facebook and www.irishcommunitycare.com

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

In Part 1… We’re in Manchester at the Irish World Heritage Centre for an evening of great music from the Kilkennys. A mix of traditional and new music will get your feet tapping. We talk to Davey Cashin from the band and also meet up with Sam Mcintyre, the organiser of the event.

In Part 2… Across to Leeds and to Kennedy’s Irish Centre Shop. Don Kennedy has run his shop at the centre since the 70s and has some great stories to tell. Born in Dublin, Don became a world class basketball player, he was also a professional musician and a record sales entrepreneur!

For more information…

Irish World Heritage Centre can be found at iwhc.com and on Facebook

The Kilkennys are on all social platforms

The Leeds Irish Centre can be found on Facebook

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

In Part 1… Founded in 1889 at Ashton in Makerfield, The Brian Boru club was established by a group of Irish emigrants who left for England over 130 years ago. We spend an evening at this culturally significant club, taking in the great history and traditional music and dance.

We’re joined by the Chairman, Tom Moran and Cultural Devotement Officer Maxine Williams and talk about the role the club plays within the local community.

With so much rich heritage, the Brian Boru sticks to its core promise: “to promote Irish history, culture, music and dance”.

In Part 2… We spend time with Tommy McLoughlin, Manager of the Leeds Irish Centre and talk about their recent redevelopment. In these difficult times, the Leeds Irish Centre is successfully filling a gap in the market and whilst others contract, the Centre is expanding.

The Leeds Irish Centre as well as being a local hub, is also the birth place of televised darts. Next time you hear them shout “one hundred and eighty!”, think back to the 1970s and “Indoor League” presented by Fred Trueman, complete with a pipe and a pint.

And to end the show, we have Chrissy Mac and his band playing “Diamond Dreams”.

For more information…

The Brian Boru and the Leeds Irish Centre are both on Facebook and also have their own websites.

brianboruclub.com

theleedsirishcentre.co.uk

Irish Community Care can be found on www.irishcc.net

Comhaltas UK.. www.comhaltas.co.uk

Chrissy Mac.. www.chrissymacband.co.uk

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

In Part 1… The Leitrim Association in Luton will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year and to commemorate this milestone, they’re putting together a book of memories of the last half century.

They need your help! Photos, stories or anything that relates to the Leitrim Association in Luton would be greatly appreciated and would form part of an historical record charting 50 years of Leitrim people living in the Luton, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire areas. Tom McLoughlin, the Chairman is putting the book together and needs material as soon as possible!

If you can help, email leitrimluton@gmail.com or text/call 07976 917385.

We also chat with Rita Jordan, who’s been an association member since the very start. Along with her late husband Andrew, Rita helped form the association and has seen it grow to where it is now.

Lots of archive pictures to look at! Are you in any of them or do you know people that are? Contact Tom!

In Part 2… Peter Fawcett is part of the fabric of the Huddersfield Irish Centre. The Irish Centre’s beautiful award winning flowerbeds and planters are the creation of Peter, who has worked all his life as a professional gardener.

We meet up with Peter as he launches his new book “Gardeners Delight” and get an insight into the amount of dedication it takes to become a professional horticulturalist.

Councillor Cahal Burke, Lord Mayor of Kirklees, joins Peter for the book launch and talks to us about his Mayoral duties. We’re also joined by Pat Conaghan, Treasurer at the Huddersfield Irish Centre.

Peter’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in gardening and is a treasure trove of great handy hints, anecdotal stories and even some poetry!

The book, published by Elgar Books in Honley, costs £10 and can be purchased from: Huddersfield Irish Centre, 86 Fitzwilliam Street, Huddersfield, HD1 5BB; Harrison Lord Photography, 5 Bradford Road, Brighouse, HD6 1RW. Tel. 01484 722462; or The Horti Centre, New Road, Overton, WF4 4RG. And Don Kennedy’s shop at Leeds Irish centre.

For more information…

The Leitrim Association Luton, Beds and Herts along with the Huddersfield Irish Centre can all be found on Facebook.

If you can help with the Leitrim Association’s book, email leitrimluton@gmail.com or text/call 07976 917385.

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

This week, we visit the Luton Irish Forum as they “celebrate” Blue Monday; allegedly the most unhappy day of the year as all our Christmas bills are in, the weather is dark and miserable and we’re a long way from our next holiday.

Whether Blue Monday is miserable or not, the Luton Irish Forum were determined to put a smile on the face of those that either attended or had a special visit to their homes.

With cabbage and bacon lunch supplied by the Globe Pub, the day at the Forum partied along with traditional music and art and craft workshops, while those that couldn’t make it in had their lunch hand delivered.

We spoke with Noelette Hanley, CEO of the Luton Irish Forum and Nuala Ely, Activities lead and found out just how important their team of fantastic volunteers are.

We also dropped in on the home visits and caught up with some heart-warming stories of coming to England.

For more information…

The Luton Irish Forum can be found on lutonirishforum.org and all other social media

Watch the Irish in the UK every Thursday night at 7.30pm on SKY 186 or Freesat 162. Repeated on Tuesday at 1 pm

On Sky 186 and Freesat 162

 

The Irish in the UK is hosted by Martin Logan.

Join Martin each week as he meets the Community around the UK with an Irish Connection.

We would like to thank our sponsors

Euro-Gold Group work in a wide range of Industry sectors including House Building, Highways, Commercial and Industrial build, Groundworks and Civil Engineering.

18 Paramount Business Park, Wilson Road, Huyton, Merseyside, L36 6AW
www.euro-gold.co.uk

L’Olivetto Italian Restaurant – Smart spot for anytime coffee, Pastries, Light bites and Lunch /Dinner menus or simple Bistro dishes. Located in the heart of Liverpool our Restaurant is easy to get to and suitable for all the family. Come try our serious Italian Restaurant.
To book a table now, call 0151 7245169. 193-195 Rose Lane, Liverpool, L18 5EA www.lolivetto.co.uk

To advertise in the UK section of the show please call Martin Logan 07808 573 142 alternatively email martinloganmanchester@gmail.com

COPYRIGHT © 2024