Irish in Britain held its 2023 Annual General Meeting on 5 December and it was an opportunity thank everyone who has been involved in its heritage project to mark the charity’s 50th anniversary year, as well as look to the future.
Chairperson Darren Murphy opened the meeting and talked about the success of recent the touring heritage exhibition and the oral histories of the Irish community curated within it. He said that this celebration of the lives and experiences of Irish migrants was especially important at a time when there was such a “toxic debate about immigration”.
He paid tribute to Irish in Britain’s member organisations, Friends, staff and trustees as well as Ambassador Martin Fraser and the Embassy team for all they did “to keep our community active and engaged”.
Trustees
He also introduced the three new Trustees who had been elected to join the board: Frances Harkin, Colum McGuire and Roisin McEvoy.
CEO Brian Dalton gave an update on Irish in Britain’s year and highlighted the unique position of the charity as a migrant organisation that operates in the context of both Britain and Ireland.
“Our core belief at Irish in Britain is that all who come to build a life in these islands should be safe.
He went on to say:
“Of course, political leadership on migration policy will always be important, how it is consulted upon, implemented and communicated, but there is also a responsibility for civil society, including organisations like Irish in Britain.
Our lived experience as migrants compels us to make the case for fairness, equity and respect always – if we don’t then others who promote division will solely shape this conversation.”
Brian shared the wide range of work carried out by the Irish in Britain team throughout the year, including analysis of the 20121 census, health promotion and support for Irish community organisations.
heritage project
After a finance report from Treasurer Gerard McHale, Susan Cahill, Irish in Britain’s Heritage Project Manager, gave a report on the huge success of Irish in Britain’s touring exhibition, ‘Look Back to Look Forward – 50 Years of Irish in Britain’. Click here for the online version of the exhibition.
Susan reported that the heritage team and the many volunteer oral historians had collected over 130 testimonies from across England, Scotland and Wales. She spoke of the “the passion and profound desire within our community to tell this ongoing story and a real hunger and drive to capture these memories.”
She pointed the numbers that are evidence of the success of the exhibition. She reported that the exhibition had over 2,500 visitors across the four cities, and the online exhibition has so far had 9,300 unique visitors and 42,400 page views, showing the “deep widespread connection to the shared heritage we’re documenting.”
Archive
All the oral histories collected as part of this project will be lodged at the Archive of the Irish in Britain at London Metropolitan University.
The Head of Special Collections there, David Baldwin, was a guest speaker at the meeting. He highlighted the extensive Archive documenting the history of the Irish community in Britain over many decades. He pointed to some of the fascinating artefacts and information they hold and of the painstaking job of cataloguing and digitising all the items for it to be fully accessible to all.
David stressed the importance of community involvement in the Archive and welcomed engagement.
The theme of heritage and recording the voices of all parts of the Irish community is one that will continue into 2024.
This year has shown the vital role that Irish community organisations have played in the past, but it also shows how central they will be in the future too.