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President of Ireland Michael D Higgins visits Birmingham
Birmingham Irish Association were delighted to host a visit from President Michael D Higgins and his wife Mrs Sabina Higgins on 11th February. President Michael D Higgins started his visit with a civic reception hosted by Birmingham’s lord mayor Yvonne Mosquito and later visited the memorial to the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings, which Birmingham Irish Association had lobbied for a new memorial that symbolises peace and hope for the city. The President and his wife Mrs Sabina Higgins then met members of the Irish community at the Birmingham Irish Association. The President addressed the crowd at Birmingham Irish Association, and commented on the history of the Birmingham Irish: “In 2017, much of this history was brought together in the wonderful project, appropriately titled We Built This City.” The project tells the stories of Irish workers who came to Birmingham after the Second World War, through their own words and those of their children. “Through this project you can get a sense of what it meant to these people to leave home, and how they went on to build their lives in a new city,” he added. Mr Higgins also thanked the people of Birmingham for welcoming the Irish […]
Birmingham Irish CEO Maurice Malone appointed to the Council of State
The Birmingham Irish Association are delighted with the recent announcements from the President’s office that their CEO, Maurice Malone, has been appointed to the Council of State. The Council established by the constitution exists to offer advice to the President. Commenting on the announcement, Pat Reihill, Chair of Birmingham Irish Association said, ‘’This is a very great honour for the organisation which cannot be overstated, and it is in recognition of the tireless work of our Chief Executive, Maurice Malone, to promote harmony and find solutions. Nowhere was this more in evidence than at the culmination of years of work to unveil a fitting memorial to those who tragically lost their lives in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974. At the very heart of this project and the impressive memorial is reconciliation, and Maurice is the embodiment of consensus and reconciliation. The Irish community in Birmingham and across Britain can be confident that their voice will be heard in this important advisory body.’’ Maurice said “I am honoured and delighted to accept the invitation from President Michael D Higgins to be part of his Council of State. I look forward to championing the fantastic work carried out by Irish organisations in […]
£5: 3 Nights, 10 breweries, 8 bands
Birmingham St Patrick’s Festival, in association with DigBrew Co and Birmingham Irish Association, have secured 10 breweries, 8 Birmingham Irish bands and bucket loads of craic for their new OktoberFeis – an Irish music and beer festival. Popular Irish breweries including Galway Bay, Blacks and Rascals will be displaying the best of their brews, alongside the best of Birmingham Irish music! The event will be held at DigbrewCo on River Street, Digbeth, over 26-28th October! The full list of breweries involved is: Rascals Brewing Co, Galway Bay Brewery, Lough Gill Brewery, Western Herd Brewing Company, Blacks Brewery & Distillery, Hope Beer, O Brother Brewing, ClonBrew, Dungarvan Brewing Company and DigBrew Co. The mini Festival will take place at Digbeth’s only brewery, DigBrew Co, on River Street. Each evening will start with a meet the brewer event, with representatives from Hope, Lough Gill, Galway Bay and DigBrew Co, followed by live music from a variety of fantastic Birmingham Irish bands! The bands performing will include: Josh Powell, Salt Creek, Reel Note Ceili Band, The Hurling Boys, James Reidy, Hooley, Lampa and The Deluge The weekend-long event from 26th- 28th October will be raising money to ensure the much loved St Patrick’s Festival […]
OktoberFeis – Our Irish Beer and Music Festival!
OktoberFeis: The Irish Beer and Music Festival! St Patrick’s Festival Birmingham, in association with Birmingham Irish and DigBrew Co, are excited to announce the inaugural OktoberFeis! The weekend-long event, running from Friday 26th until Sunday 28th October, will feature the best in local and Irish brewed beers, along with the finest in Irish music, all while raising money to ensure the St Patrick’s Parade and Festival remain a fixture in Birmingham’s calendar. Friday night will see the launch of the weekend-long OktoberFeis, with a weekend-long takeover of Dig brew (Digbeth’s only brewery!) by Irish breweries, meet the brewer events, performances from Reel Note, The Deluge, The Hurling Boys, Lampa, James Reidy, Josh Powell, Hooley, Salt Creek and more! Festivities will kick off at 6pm on each day with the best of Brummy Irish music ringing out throughout the Irish Quarter. So far, confirmed Irish Breweries include: Rascals, Galway Bay, Lough Gill, Western Herd, Blacks of Kinsale, Hope, O Brother, Clonakilty Brewing Company and Dungarvan brewing company. With Hope, Lough Gill and Galway Bay sending over their brewers for your Q&As. Meet the brewers event: Hope, Lough Gill & Galway Bay 6pm Friday & Saturday, 4pm Sunday Bands: Friday: Josh Powell // Salt Creek // Ree Note Saturday: Hurling Boys / Hooley // James Reidy Sunday: Lampa // The […]
New Birmingham Pub Bombings Memorial
New Memorial to be unveiled at New Street Station for the Victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings of 1974 On 21st November 2018 a new memorial to the victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings will be unveiled in a ceremony outside New Street Station, exactly forty-four years after the atrocity took place. The memorial has been designed by local artist Anuradha Patel who already has a number on works on display across the West Midlands including the Aspire sculpture at Hawthorns railway station. Anuradha has worked closely with the victims’ families and Birmingham City Council, and the new memorial entails a grove of sculptured metal trees with the names of the twenty-one victims engraved on the leaves. Seating will be built into the base of two of the trees providing visitors a place to rest and contemplate. Above: New Street Station where the memorial will be unveiled. Network Rail is funding the artwork’s installation in keeping with its section 106 planning obligations agreed with the city council as part of the New Street station upgrade. The New Street station site was selected because of its prominence in the centre of the city. The impetus for the […]
Fundraising Father and Son team to scale 3 Welsh Peaks
Father and son team Mick and Deaglan O’Brien are planning to scale the Three Welsh peaks in 24 hours to raise money for the St Anne’s Centre at Birmingham Irish Association; where they provide care support to elderly Irish. You can support them here. Spurred on by successfully raising over £2,500 last year on their climb of the Three Yorkshire Peaks, Mick and Deaglan have set themselves a higher donation target and a higher ascent target! “Last year’s challenge raised well over an amazing £2,500 for Birmingham Irish Association and in particular its Dementia support service. The money raised contributed to the service being able to provide daycare support to individuals suffering from this terrible illness.” Said Mick O’Brien, “Thanks to generous donations such as this now operates 4 days a week from its central base in Digbeth and a new Centre in South Yardley.” Mick and Deaglan’s efforts last year were particularly brave as their climb coincided with the arrival of Storm Brian; 50mph gusts, torrential rain and practically zero visibility. This year, The Welsh Three Peaks challenge includes a total walking distance of 17 miles (27.4km) and an ascent of 2334 metres (7657ft), in less than 24-hours. That’s more […]
Road plan ‘bombshell’ for Warwickshire GAA
Highways England’s plans to build a relief road off junction six of the M42 will have a “hugely damaging effect on Pairc na hEireann (…) stakeholders and consequently the sustainability of Gaelic Games (a minority sport), in Warwickshire.” Warwickshire GAA Secretary Michael Colling said “We feel strongly that the new proposals will impact negatively on both the environment and the accessibility of Pairc na hEireann”, He added, “without people (players and spectators) we will have no games”. The Trustees and Officers of Warwickshire County Board believe the only viable solution, to preserve the sporting facilities, heritage, cultural fabric and harmony of our current facilities, is a well-executed, relocation of our grounds. “A well-executed Compulsory Purchase Order leaves the individual is a no worse off state, this cannot be said of Highway England’s current proposals for Pairc na hEireann.” The hugely important monument to deceased members, currently symbolically situated at the highest point on our facility, will also have to be re-sited. The Warwickshire GAA County Board have asked as many members and acquaintances as possible to do two simple but hugely effecting tasks to support our ongoing fight. Please be aware that consultation closes on October 2nd so could all concerned […]
Application Deadline – Frequently Asked Questions
Following the recent publication of Minister Bruton’s Review, the Board of Caranua have announced that Caranua requires survivors who want to apply for funding supports from Caranua must complete and return an application form to apply for services by Wednesday 1st August 2018. Please follow this to an ISL video by the Irish Deaf Society with this information. (Many thanks to the Irish Deaf Society for allowing us to share this on our website). https://vimeo.com/272957193 Additional ISL videos on our application process can be found by following this link: http://caranua.ie/how-to-apply/accessible-information/ The following are some questions and answers about how to apply to Caranua if you haven’t already done so and if you have already sent in your application to Caranua: Is Caranua closing on 1st August 2018? No. Caranua is not closing on 1st August 2018. Caranua is asking survivors who have not yet applied for support funding to send in their application form to us by Wednesday 1st August 2018 to ensure that your application can be processed. I have not applied to Caranua yet, how do I apply? Please contact us as soon as possible. You can contact us by phone, email or post. Our office hours are 9.30am to […]
The Trip to Birmingham TradFest returns for it’s 5th year!
The Trip to Birmingham TradFest is returning for it’s 5th year, and the line-up for 2018 and it is a belter! The 2018 TradFest will run from 22nd-25th November and feature well known traditional Irish artists; Four Men and a Dog, Brid Harper, Damien Mullane, Dermot Byne & Steve Cooner, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and many more! Tickets for the festival are now ON SALE and Early-Bird weekend tickets are also available for a limited period! Organisers have advised that there are only a limited number of Early-bird tickets available so make sure you snap them up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. “It is our honour and pleasure to host yet again another weekend of Traditional Irish Music for the UK’s Second City. With the line up now pretty much confirmed and tickets on sale, we’re busy working behind the scenes curating a festival to which we hope will exceed all of your expectations. It promises to be a top quality of Traditional Irish music which we hope to share with as many people as possible in November. As with every year, from all of us here at the Trip to Birmingham TradFest, we would like to thank each […]
Letter from the Ambassador to the Irish community in Britain
It has been almost a year since I had the honour of becoming the Ambassador of Ireland to the UK, and what a wonderful year it has been. Together with the team at the Embassy, I have travelled across Britain working to strengthen the cultural, economic and political ties between Ireland and the UK. In the process, I have met countless members of the Irish community here and witnessed the impressive scale of achievements of Irish people in every walk of life. There is no doubt that the Irish community has contributed greatly to British society in all areas. I am proud of that contribution and thank you for it. In the course of my many conversations with Irish people here, I have frequently been asked about the potential impact that Brexit may have on Ireland and on the daily lives of the Irish in Britain. The Irish Government’s objective in these negotiations is to do whatever we can to ensure an orderly Brexit that does not damage Ireland’s fundamental national interests – safeguarding the peace process, maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA), protecting Ireland’s trade and economy and ensuring the closest possible future relationship between the UK and the […]
Irish Ambassador visits Birmingham Irish Association
Adrian O’Neill, Irish Ambassador to the UK, visited the Birmingham Irish Association this month to meet the Irish community and promote the good work they do in the West Midlands. The Ambassador met with staff and volunteers from Birmingham Irish Association and was briefed on their continued good work in the community including their healthcare team, benefits advice team, dementia centre project, the development of their Irish event app and website, and a growing partnership with the St Patrick’s Festival. Ambassador O’Neill met with volunteers and clients of the adjacent St Anne’s Centre; a support centre run by Birmingham Irish Association providing cultural care to elderly Irish people: “I was delighted to visit the Birmingham Irish Association. This was my first visit to the organisation and I was pleased to experience the range and breadth of services provided by the BIA first-hand. I am very proud that through ESP we support the Birmingham Irish Association, who play a pivotal role in bringing the Irish community together. The range of frontline services, advice and welfare programmes run by the Birmingham Irish is truly impressive. The dementia project, which I was able to see first-hand during my visit, provides care and support […]
Birmingham Irish Association launch The Craic App and Website!
The Craic.co.uk – the new website and app for what’s Irish and what’s on! The digital one-stop-shop for all things Irish has been commissioned by Birmingham Irish Association. They believe the new website and app – suitably called “The Craic” has the potential to provide a much-needed nationwide service by identifying and promoting Irish cultural and heritage and sporting events. The Craic website and app will provide a database of all Irish venues, events and festivals across the UK. Users will be able to search for nearby up and coming Irish events and Irish organisations such as GAA clubs, dance schools and parish centres. The aim of the website is to display all available information on upcoming Irish events across the UK, which users can then filter by location, venue and event type e.g dancing lessons, trad sessions, or live music events. The Craic will also feature a ticket-selling platform enabling the sale of digital tickets on behalf of all associated organisations, without expensive commissions going to third-party providers. It will also feature an Irish shop selling all your favourite merchandise, Kimberley biscuits, Barry’s Tea and of course Tayto’s crisps! The Craic will enable venue owners and event organisers to […]
Birmingham Irish Cycle Appeal Raise £2,500 for Birmingham Irish Association
Pictured, left to right: Sean Argue, Joe Hetherington, Joanne Mc Callion, Christina Mc Callion, Trudy McGroarty, Des Brennan and Anthony Gilleran BICA are a group of charitable characters who partake in a cycle tour each year to raise money for local charities, and they have kindly raised £2,500 for the Birmingham Irish Association Dementia Centre. Joe Hetherington and crew had nominated Birmingham Irish as one of the charities they support. The money will go towards running the Birmingham Irish Dementia Centre. The centre runs from St Anne’s Parish Centre four days a week, and is open to Irish people (1st, 2nd or subsequent generations) that are suffering with dementia. The service is free of charge, with hot lunch and transport to and from the centre provided. This much needed service provides an opportunity for the families, community and for the carers to have some much needed respite. It is the first of its kind in Birmingham and is specifically for the Irish community. CEO of Birmingham Irish Association, Maurice Malone said “We are hugely thankful for the kind donation. The dementia centre is becoming a very popular service, and the donation will go a long way towards maintaining the high […]
Celebrating 20 Years of Taaffe House
Deputy Lord Mayor Mike Leddy joined the celebrations as clients and staff celebrated 20 years of Taaffe House and Nehemiah UCHA. Sharon Toy Scheme Manager for and Llewellyn Graham CEO welcomed guests and provided a big Irish welcome for the Deputy Lord Mayor, complete with music and dancing from Little Jimmy and Micky Rice.
Another Successful Year! St Patrick’s Festival & Parade Draws to a Close
That’s a Wrap! Birmingham St Patrick’s Festival & Parade Draws to a Close. And just like that, it’s all over for another year! Thousands flocked to Digbeth on Sunday 11th March to attend the annual Birmingham St. Patrick’s Festival, in partnership with Kiely Bros and the Parade was once again a huge success, despite falling on the same day as Mothering Sunday. The day began with the Emerald Mile, in partnership with South and City College, a charity fun run consisting of two laps around the mile-long parade route. This was the second edition of the St. Patrick’s Fun Run and all proceeds made go straight back into keeping the festival going. Participants were awarded prizes including £100 for the fastest runner and tickets to see The Vamps at the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena. The fastest runner was Lorraine Marchal with an amazing time of 12:58 and the best fancy dress prize was awarded to Andrew Bennett, who ran the race in an impressive getup – ‘Grandad’ from Mrs Brown’s Boys. The Parade began at midday, heralded by the incredible Birmingham Irish Pipes and Drums band. It began at Camp Hill and travelled in a loop around Digbeth, led as always […]