A special DVD is available to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Irish Association of Manchester.
The celebration disc includes footage from the Irish Association's 50th anniversary dinner held in the city - including the speech by guest of honour President Mary McAleese.

It also features interviews with two of the founder members of the association who are now in their late 80s - Tom Finnigan and Michael O'Dwyre.

President Mary McAleese's speech is interlaced with photographs of dinner dances from previous years and words from ex-chairmen of the Irish Association.It also contains a Picture Gallery of photographs that have never been available before now.

The DVD is a fascinating record of the celebration night as well as a lasting tribute to one of Britain's most pioneering and important Irish organisations.

Since its launch 50 years ago the Irish Association has been the first port of call for thousands of Irish men and women in the North of England and has given invaluable assistance to countless emigrants.

Order Online Now!

It is my great pleasure to add this introduction to our Programme which marks the Silver Jubilee of the opening of our Club.

I need not refer here to the origins of our Association or our Club as this is carefully documented in a History later on in the Programme. I commend it to you.

Since its opening on Whit Weekend 1960, the Club has gone from strength to strength leaving it today at the pinnacle of its success with its highest ever membership.

The formation of the Club has given the Irish people of that day and the Quarter Century that has ensured an entity of which they can be truly proud. The Club has offered a togetherness which has helped to retain and strengthen the Religious, Cultural and Family ties which mean so much in the Homeland but are so hard to preserve in emigrant fields.

To the people whose vision, foresight and resources gave birth to this Association, I wish to pay homage. To the people who have followed in their footsteps continuously working to maintain and improve standards, we all owe a debt of gratitude. To all the staff who have given us warm and courteous service through the years, we are also grateful.

The combined efforts of all those people has clearly helped to preserve the aims of the Founders. Through those efforts, the Club has been in a position to contribute some hundreds of thousands of pounds to charities throughout the years.

All surplus revenue created through this Festival will be contributed towards the relief of famine and hunger in Africa and local charities. I thank all the sponsors of the Festival who helped us so generously in our objective.

I welcome you to the Festival and hope that some, if not all, of the items in the Programme will offer enjoyment. I trust that the Festival will help to launch our Association into a New Century in the capable hands of a new and worthy generation of Irish people. Our History to date shows that they are not likely to forsake the Beliefs or Traditions of their Forefathers. I know that that will be the case.

PAUL COSTELLO,
Chairman.

President: Martin Flynn Secretary: Frank Heenan

That was the remark that sowed the seed that later gave birth to the Irish Association Club. It was made by John Donelon (now deceased) to Tom Finnigan in the cloakroom of the Alma Lodge Hotel, Stockport Road when they, and some of their friends were leaving the hotel after attending a Catenian Dinner Dance in 1951. They had hoped to get a drink at the hotel bar when the Dinner Dance was over, but it had gone time, and all the bars were closed. Four more years had to pass before the birth of the Association took place, but the idea was constantly discussed whenever a few of the Irish lads met after that night.

During the following four years many members of the Irish Community in Manchester had become self-employed independent businessmen. Some of them had joined the Catenians, and some had joined the Knights of St. Columba. They attended the annual social functions arranged by these two bodies, but because they lived in different parts of the City these were almost the only times in the year when they, and their wives met socially. Then one night, after many discussions about Clubs and meeting places, five or six of the Irish lads who lived in the South of Manchester met on a Sunday night in late 1955 in the Knights of St. Columba's Club in Princess Road. Tom Finnigan suggested that night that it was about time the Irish community in Manchester had at least an Annual Dance at Christmas time, every other national group except the Irish had something. This suggestion caught on immediately, and the very next week the group found a regular meeting place in a city centre pub called the Mill Stone, run by Paddy O'Malley, a very keen supporter of the group.

At the very first meeting which took place in the Conference Room of the Mill Stone the group after long and serious discussion, decided that henceforth it would be known as the "Irish Association". Many meetings took place at this centre, and minutes were kept for all of them. Unfortunately these minutes were lost and with them have gone the record of all the arguments, wit, friendliness and crack to which these meetings gave rise. After so many years, and without a record to help, the memory gets vague, but as far as we can remember the name "The Irish Association" was suggested by Michael McKeown, and Martin Flynn was elected the Association's first Chairman.

The affairs of the meetings were conducted in a most business-like manner, and a date in early January 1956 was fixed for the Dinner Dance. This was the first big social occasion of the Irish Association and an Annual Dinner Dance has been held ever since.

Here we must leave the story of the progress of what was to become, four years later, the Irish club of 17, High Lane, Chorlton. We want to turn for a minute to what was probably the most important aspect of the work of this group during the decade 1955-1965.

In the mid-fifties very large numbers of young Irish boys and girls were coming to England from Ireland. Very few of them had either work or lodgings to go to. The Irish community in Manchester was very concerned about the welfare of these young people. They had themselves come over the hard way in the 1930's when things were even worse. The hope was to help the newcomers to avoid some of the pitfalls which we knew lay in front of them. To this end an office was rented from British Rail at 8, Peter Street in which Miss Mary Hennigan was employed as a Secretary. She kept a list of suitable lodgings and possible places of employment for the boys and girls who were directed to her. Little is more extraordinary than the decision to emigrate; little more extraordinary than the accumulation of emotions, and thoughts which finally leads a person to say farewell to a community where he or she has lived a peaceful life; to abandon old ties and familiar landmarks and sail across the dark seas to a strange land. The happy and the powerful do not go into exile. There is no surer guarantee of equality among people than poverty and misfortune.

When we left home we carried nothing with us except a strong religious faith, and a strong desire for economic advancement. During the thirties, and before that, emigration was a leap into the unknown. It was an enormous intellectual and emotional commitment to leave home and loved ones and begin an adventure filled with incalculable uncertainty, risk and hardship. Today, when mass communications can inform one part of the world what is happening in another in a matter of minutes, it is relatively easy to know what to expect in a country to which one intends to emigrate, but in the fifties, since knowledge was not easily available, the immigrants of the thirties knew what their successors of the fifties would have to face.

The opening of the office in Peter Street was intended to supply the newcomers with the information they required, but as things turned out it was quickly obvious that it was much easier to deal with the young men than it was to deal with the girls. Most of the established Irish men were in the Contracting business, and they could find work for young men. Jim Beirne was a Manager with Wimpey's and he found jobs for many. Men like Jim Molloy of Petro Chemicals were untiring in their help. The opening of the Information Centre in Peter Street had not quite solved the problem of the Irish girls.

Fortunately for us Monsignor Sewell had by now become very interested in what we were doing. He was a wonderful character — big in stature and big at heart. He had spent fifty years in Manchester as a Priest. He was certainly one of the best Public Relation Officers that the Irish or the Catholics of this City ever had. He kept the Bishop of Salford fully informed of our work. The Bishop of Salford at this time was Bishop Beck. He was keenly interested in what was going on. He circulated the Manchester parishes and asked them to supply us with any information they could of names and addresses of suitable landladies. He was well aware of the difficulties which would face young Irish girls arriving in Manchester for the first time, and with his help and blessing a large house in its own grounds at 88, Burnage Lane, was found, purchased and equipped as a girls' hostel. This was opened in 1958, and at first it functioned most successfully. Soon, however, problems began to develop and Martin Flynn, in particular, suffered many headaches because of them. By 1962 it had outlived its usefulness and the Diocese took it over and turned it into a home for homeless children.

Here we will leave the social activities performed by this special Irish group, but before we do so, and without mentioning names we would like to record that frequent journeys were made to Liverpool to meet the Irish boats and take the Irish boys and girls to lodgings or jobs in Manchester.

Now to return to the story of the "First Do" which was held in the Grand Hotel in 1956 — it was a splendid affair. Martin Flynn, as previously mentioned, was the Chairman, Tom Finnigan was Secretary and George Hyland R.I.P., was M.C. One of our guests that evening was Alderman Leslie Lever M.P. He arrived late for the meal because on that evening at a meeting of the City Council he had been chosen Lord Mayor Elect for the following year. Mr. Lever who subsequently became Lord Lever, remained a staunch friend of the Irish Association until his death.

The evening was acclaimed an outstanding success. Irish bands were engaged for successive functions. The Gallowglass Ceilidh was one of the first and it set the pattern for those to follow.

Bishop Beck befriended us from the very start. He was a big handsome man with a most beautiful speaking voice. He came to our Dinner Dances every year and he always came to, and enjoyed, what came to be known as the "Day After" the Dance Functions. It was he who suggested we invite the Irish Bishops to our Dinner.

The first to accept our invitation was Bishop Staunton of Wexford. His visit was a great success. It was made memorable for us by one event, which is now amusing, but at the time it was very much otherwise. Bishop Staunton and Bishop Beck both attended the "Day After" lunch, we had a present for Bishop Staunton, but nothing for Bishop Beck, so it was not possible to make the presentation to Bishop Staunton during the lunch. Jimmy O'Grady, who was the Chairman that year, overcame the difficulty by making the presentation to Bishop Staunton in the toilet while Bishop Beck was still in the dining room.

Several other members of the Irish Hierarchy came in succeeding years, even Cardinal Conway of Armagh accepted our invitation one year. Those visiting Irish Bishops meant a lot to the Irish of Manchester. They lifted us and gave us a sense of importance, and although we had many other dignitaries such as Lord Mayors and Ambassadors in other years, it was the Bishops that really mattered. Our own Bishop Beck always made our guests most welcome. He had a most beneficial effect on the Irish Association. He raised the status of our Association to a level far above that of similar organisations which were in existence long before it.

For the time being, the link between the Association and the Irish Bishops seems to have been broken, let us hope it will be revived.

While the above events were taking place, the Irish Association was all the time on the look out for premises which would be suitable for a Club. Several places were looked at and considered and then at last the searching was over. In late 1959 we heard a rumour that the Freemasons wanted to sell privately their premises at 17, High Lane, Chorlton. This would be ideal for our purpose. Many discussions took place about the possibility of purchasing the magnificent property. Fortunately, one of the Masons, a Mr. Walter Chesworth was the Auditing Accountant for Connell & Finnigan, so we had a personal contact, but we had doubts and we were hesitating. One afternoon, Peter Connell called into the office of Connell & Finnigan. James O'Grady happened to be there. Peter told us that a property company, with who he had business relations, was about to buy High Lane. Michael Connell rang Walter Chesworth immediately, Walter introduced him to Mr. Taylor and very quickly the Club was bought for £4,500. The hesitation and the waiting were over.

The very next Sunday, Father L. Murray from St. John's Church, Chorlton, buried a Miraculous Medal in the front garden of the Club, and one in the centre of the bowling green which is now the car-park. It is worth recording that twenty-one years later Bishop Burke, the Auxiliary Bishop of Salford, with sixteen Priests and a huge congregation, con-celebrated Mass in a Marquee that was erected over the Medal in the car-park.

The purchase price of the Club was almost entirely raised by contributions in the form of interest-free loans, from the founding members. Twenty-five years ago money was not easily come by. The members who contributed were:- Messrs. M. Connell; J. O'Grady; J. Beirne; J. Donelon; A. Caferty; T. Finnigan; M. Flynn; M. O'Dwyer; M. McKeown and J. Dowd. A trading account was opened with the National Bank, Mosley Street, this was where most of the members banked. A bank overdraft and mortgage had to be arranged because considerable sums, over and above the purchase price, were going to be needed for repairs and new furniture. All the above members had to act as Guarantors for this bank loan and mortgage.

TRUSTEES:

For Bank Loan: Messrs. Connell; Finnigan; O'Dwyer and O'Grady.

For Mortgage: Messrs. McKeown; Flynn; Cafferty and Donelon.

The National Bank wasn't taking many risks!

Once the Club was purchased a lot of work needed to be done. The building had been empty for two years and everything had deteriorated. Everybody joined in and the spirit of co-operation was incredible. A good deal of work was done without charge. John Donelon turned the bowling green into a car-park, and John Stephens supplied and delivered all the cinders which this required free of charge. There was a feeling of elation in the air, and everyone was enjoying the challenge. By Whit Friday 1960 all was ready. The Club was officially opened by Alderman O'Donovan with Michael Connell in the Chair. The total cost was £10,000 which included the purchase price, a new bar, an extended cellar, decorations, furniture and stock.

Opening a Club the size of that at 17, High Lane was a big undertaking. It was not quite like setting up a business, but nevertheless the experience which many of the members had gained from setting up their own businesses was invaluable. Jobs were shared out, and willingly undertaken, and by sheer hard work and efficiency the Committee survived the problems arising from stocking, maintenance, staffing and accounting.

Yet in spite of every effort the inevitable teething troubles lay ahead. We were lucky at this time to have as our Chairman a man with a feeling for diplomacy, Michael Connell. He could listen to the views of everyone, and then get their agreement to the proposition he wanted carried. Once he had explained his views nobody contradicted him. You will appreciate that it is not an easy task to keep a team often independent Irishmen pulling in the same direction, Michael Connell succeeded in this task. The general running was controlled by Jim Beirne and John Dowd, who unselfishly gave so much of their time and professional expertise, so much so, that their colleagues on a number of occasions pressed them to accept a remuneration which they always refused, they directed the Club's financial affairs until it was free of all debt, loans, mortgages and overdrafts. Michael O'Dwyer was our next Chairman and he also played an important role.

We were aware from the beginning that the people who lived in the vicinity of High Lane were not happy to have a large Club in their midst. They voiced their objections in many ways and in particular they frequently reported the Club to the Police for making excessive noise. The Committee did everything they could to meet the objections. At considerable expense the whole of the upstairs area was sound-proofed and double glazed, but all to no avail. The Committee was summoned to appear before the Stipendiary Magistrate at Minshull Street and charged with violating the Noise Abatement Act. The Committee was represented by Mr. L. Lever and Sir Philip Curtiss. The case went on for nearly six hours. James O'Grady was the Secretary to the Club at this time and he had to give evidence. His attitude in the witness box was most impressive and the Stipendiary was undoubtedly influenced by his integrity and sincerity. At about 4.30 p.m., the Stipendiary informed the Prosecution that he would need some time to think over the implications of the case, and that he would not be able to announce his decision for a couple of weeks.

We waited in a state of suspense, and when we were at last called back to Court, Mr. Bamber informed us that during the previous three weeks he had spent six evenings in the vicinity of the Club and that at no time had he found the noise excessive. We had won the case, but we had to pay our own costs which were in the region of £600.

The Club was now all set to move forward. The rules were tightened up, and for the first time the members began to discuss what kind of a Club 17, High Lane should become. It had originally been bought in the names of the Founding Members, and in reality the premises belonged to them, but there was a feeling that this arrangement was not now satisfactory. By a deliberate decision, which is recorded in a Minute, the Founding Members decided to hand the Club, now completely free of debt, over to the five hundred members who by now had joined the Club and henceforth the Club would be a Members Club. Next to the purchase of the building in 1960 this was probably the most important decision the Founding Committee ever made.

Our next job was to co-opt new members on to the Committee. There was amongst the membership men just as good as ourselves, who were quite capable of managing. We were of the opinion and still are, that it is essential to the life of any member club to change its management regularly, as stimulates the necessary interest among its members.

Let us have a brief look at the 30's. Immediately after we arrived in England was the hardest time. We had no reserves of money and we had to find work. We didn't go queuing at the Labour Exchange looking for benefits, we travelled to get work. Whenever there was muscle needed for the job the Irish were hired. It didn't matter how menial or how poor the conditions. We were physically hardy, we were conditioned by the rigours of life at home, we spent most of our youth working with our parents, who taught us how to work, which proved a very valuable form of education during these times. Some of us even went to the East Coast working on the huge farms in the Fen country where the conditions were abominable. The money wasn't that great either, the going rate was £2 10s. Od. for harvesting an acre of beet or potatoes that produced twenty tons to the acre.

But as the years passed and a new generation was born things began to change for the better. Gradually, rung by rung, the Irish climbed up the economic and social ladder. Having experienced for ourselves the handicaps of limited education we were determined that our children would have the advantages of education and, thanks to the efforts of our children and the democratic system of education in England, they emerged from the Universities as Priests, Teachers, Architects, Lawyers, Doctors, Engineers and members of other Professions. Many of those who did not opt for an Academic career are leaders in various industries. The Irish immigrant in seeking his own social advancement, helped strengthen the fabric of liberty in the English way of life.

Every aspect of the English economy has profited from the contributions of the Irish immigrant. We have helped to invigorate the Catholic Church. We have contributed to sports and entertainment. We all know about the spectacular immigrant successes, but the anonymous immigrant played his indispensable role too.

This is a very brief outline of the events which affected a section of the Irish community in Manchester between 1952 and 1965, and of the events which surrounded the beginnings of the Irish Association Club in Chorlton.

From 1966 to the present day a number of members have been elected to the management committee, each one has made a special contribution.

The most significant event to take place was in 1975/76, when we carried out major upgrading of the building, this consisted of new lounge, entrance hall, structural alterations, bars, dance floor, toilets, furniture, lighting, decoration on the ground floor, stairs, toilets, bars, furniture, lighting, decoration to the first floor.

This involved very considerable expenditure and would not have been possible without the financial and physical help of many of our members.

1981 brought our 21st Anniversary year, to mark the occasion we erected a large marquee in the car park. In order to respond to the appeal for the Year of the Disabled, a number of fund-raising events were organised. The end result was a cheque for £6,000 presented to the Lord Mayor of Manchester for the appeal.

But the highlight of the occasion was the concelebration of mass in the marquee by Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Burke, M.A., Auxiliary Bishop of Salford and twelve Priests.

In 1982/83 further important events were the alterations to provide additional space on the dance floor, and the fitting out of the new kitchen. All of this provides us with the facilities we enjoy today.

In addition to the Founder Members the following gentlemen have held the office of chairmen of the Management Committee since 1965.

J. Benson F. Heenan T. Kilroe
P. Boyle E. Haughey P. Molloy
T. Connor J. Kavanagh W. McGagh
P. Costello J. Keane P. McKelvey
P. Curley (Jun) J. T. Kennedy
S. Donelon P. J. Kennedy

For their loyalty and dedicated service, the Members owe them a debt of gratitude.

Someone has asked, now that these events are recorded, will anyone ever want to read them? The answer is probably no! But the time had come, the sages felt, when a record should be made of their trials and efforts. They had travelled the long, hard road from the peaceful plains of Connaught to the hustle and bustle of the great City of Manchester. They had met and entertained Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals — Lord Mayors, M.P.'s, Judges and Ambassadors, and they leave behind them, for the enjoyment of their children and successors, a Club and meeting place of which they are rightly proud.

"MOLADH GO DEO LE DIA!"