Irish in Britain hosted its 2024 AGM at the Liverpool Irish Centre, where they received a warm welcome in a city that has a unique Irish profile - the Federation of Irish Societies first chair was Liverpool native Tommy Walsh, appointed at its founding congress in 1973.
It was a chance for members, trustees and the Irish in Britain staff team to meet and talk both about the past year, but also about their work together in the future.
Sarah Mangan, Consul General of Ireland in Manchester addressed the meeting, recalling that exactly a year ago she had been speaking at the opening of the Irish in Britain heritage exhibition in Leeds. She pointed to the many different Irish organisations working locally and described opening the Consulate in Manchester as a “rich and rewarding experience”.
Breda Corish, joint vice chair in her final AGM after six years serving as a trustee, addressed the meeting. She explained that she was deputising for interim chair, Gerard McHale, after the Chair, Darren Murphy, recently stepped down.
She reflected on the diversity of the experience represented among the member groups that make up Irish in Britain and highlighted the charity’s work in a whole range of areas: “Alongside heritage and civic leadership, 2024 also saw a very significant development for the health, in body and mind, of our community.”
CEO address
Irish in Britain’s CEO Brian Dalton also spoke to delegates and observers about this range of work and of looking to future leaders in the community:
“The future of our community network will be shaped by our ability to attract and develop a new generation of civic leadership. Through our continued investment in our leadership programme, Ceannairí Nua, we are enabling a new generation to contribute, volunteer and lead. This free programme develops the trustees and community leaders of today and in the future.”
He reported on the success of Irish in Britain’s heritage exhibition celebrating our 50th anniversary, and how important its messages were in the current political climate, saying:
“One of the most important aspects of curating this exhibition was that fact that it was our story in our words – first hand and unfiltered accounts of what being Irish in Britain means to us,
“We were honoured to bring these emigrant stories home to Ireland at a time when the public debate on migration policy and the recent violent racist protests in Britain and Ireland threaten the safety of migrants and poison community relations.
“We were deeply heartened by the cross-community response, a broad coalition of groups and individuals who marched and rallied around the country in rejection of the politics of division. As a community that has historically walked the hard yards for equality and representation, we are ready to play our part.”
New trustees
Irish in Britain members elected three new trustees to the board: Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Patrick Goulding and Hilary O'Shaughnessy.
Irish in Britain team members presented reports on health, heritage and policy work. Ellen Gavin, Irish in Britain’s Health and Wellbeing Development Manager, reported to the meeting on the launch of our new Healthy Ageing Project with Irish in Britain's Health Ageing Coordinators Hayley Reynolds and Mina Sonariwo.
She also highlighted the range of health issues that Irish in Britain addresses to improve and support the community. Cuimhne Coordinator Zibiah Loakthar followed up with a report on the Cuimhne Memory Loss work.
Our Policy and Research Manager, Rosa Gilbert, reported on our 50th anniversary project and pointed to how members can set up their own oral history projects. She introduced Eamonn Delaney, from the Brian Boru Club , and an Irish in Britain Trustee, who described a moving experience of recording oral histories.
The meeting also heard from representatives of member groups. Noelette Hanley, CEO of Luton Irish Forum, described many of the projects the group has created, and Damian O'Reilly from the Republic of Ireland Walking Football Association talked about the many health and social benefits of getting involved in the sport.
Funding trends, opportunities and updates were detailed by Irish in Britain consultant, Dave Oldroyd of Supporting Locally and supported by Irish in Britain’s annual funding guide for all member organisations.
Motions
Two motions were put to the meeting and passed unanimously – one calling on Irish in Britain to highlight and promote the work of member organisations who offer support to former residents of Ireland’s Mother and Baby and County Homes; the other committed Irish in Britain to help facilitate a diverse community stakeholder group to promote best practice and policy on end-of-life care in the community.