Coming Together

As well as suitcases Irish emigrants brought their cultural traditions across the Irish Sea to Britain. Along with religious practice, Gaelic games, the Irish language, and traditional music, song and dance have been the great markers of Irish identity abroad.

In the early 1900s the impoverished and shrinking Irish community had few social venues in Leeds in which to gather, apart from the Irish National Club, Lower Briggate (fondly known as the "Old Nash") and a few church halls. To compound matters much of the community lived in cramped conditions, in small houses or rented rooms, which were not suitable for large get-togethers. As greater numbers poured into the city from the 1950s Irish-run public houses sprung up in the areas in which the new arrivals settled. In an absence of other suitable venues these became the centres for the Irish social scene. As the Irish community gradually strengthened in numbers and confidence, they acquired better venues and playing pitches, and established organisations for the promotion and teaching of Irish traditions.  

Gaelic Games

Traditional Irish sports, such as Gaelic football and hurling, have long been played in Leeds. Until the late 1940s these were played informally in local parks (such as Potternewton Park, Chapel Allerton) on Sunday afternoons between gangs of Irish lads. Comically, there is a story about one such game of hurling being broken up by the police after a panicked report about Irishmen attacking each other with "sticks"! In 1948 the Yorkshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was established, and several clubs were formed in Leeds. Newly arrived emigrants joined clubs to find old friends and make new ones. As in Ireland, county and club loyalty are strong, with emigrants from particular counties choosing to join clubs where their fellow countymen dominated. Although, hurling as a competitive sport died out in Leeds, football remains strong. Today, there are 5 senior football clubs in Leeds: St. Anthony’s, St. Benedict’s Harps, Hugh O’Neills, John F. Kennedy’s & Young Ireland’s. There is a healthy mix of camaraderie and rivalry between the clubs, and matches are competitive.

Many Irish in Leeds are great supporters of Leeds United, and many Irish players have donned the white strip of Leeds over the decades, most notably Johnny Giles, John Sheridan, Gary Kelly, Ian Harte and Robbie Keane. And honorary Irishman Jack Charlton, who brought unprecedented footballing success to the Republic of Ireland, spent his best playing years at Leeds United. Gaelic games have also been played at Elland Road. In 1987 the Yorkshire County Board of the GAA organised a match between Mayo and Dublin.

Music, Song & Dance

Irish public houses became the centre for Irish traditional music and song, with particular pubs gaining reputations for their "sessions", such as the Regent Hotel (Leylands), Old Roscoe (Sheepscar), and Fountain Head (Burmantofts). The Irish traditional music pub session is in fact a British phenomenon. Traditionally, in Ireland the music venue was by the hearth in the home, but in the absence of a hearthside Irish emigrants turned to the warmth of the public house. Here tunes and song from home were heard and exchanged. The Leeds Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann (roughly Association of Irish Musicians) was formed in the Regent Hotel in 1969. Over time, several schools of Irish dance were formed in the City.

Pubs, Clubs & Dancehalls

Irish emigrants to post-war Britain were primarily young and single, with as many women as men leaving, which was unusual in a European context. In response to the growing numbers of young Irish people arriving into the city, particularly from the 1960s, Irish landlords began taking over public houses in areas in which the Irish were settling. There was a particular concentration around the City Centre, and moving north-eastwards around Leylands, Burmantofts, Sheepscar, and Harehills. The pubs varied in size, standard and reputation. Depending on the landlords county of origin some pubs became associated with particular Irish counties. In other non-Irish pubs, there was often an unofficial "Irish corner". Irish-run pubs were not of, of course, exclusive to the Irish, and the native community mixed freely. University lecturers and students with an interest in folk music were also amongst the regular visitors to pubs with traditional Irish music.

St Francis, Holbeck, and the Shamrock, Kirkgate, were the popular Irish dancehalls in Leeds and were well-known in Ireland and throughout Yorkshire. In the 1960s, during the height of the showbands era, the Shamrock drew bus loads of young Irish men and women from all over Yorkshire, and many married couples owe their thanks the Casey’s from Co. Kerry who opened this dancehall.

Leeds Irish Centre

In the late 1960s Leeds Councillor and Irish National Club committee member Michael Rooney acquired 3 acres of land off York Road, close to the original home of the Leeds Irish Community, and with the backing of famous local brewery Tetley’s the first purpose-built Irish centre in Britain was constructed. The new centre opened in 1970 and it quickly became home to the various Irish cultural organisations, offering greater room and comfort to socialise than the small pubs and church halls which had served until then. Over time the Leeds Irish Centre expanded to include a games room, members meeting room, function rooms, playing pitches and sports facilities.

One of the Leeds Irish Centre’s great successes has been its "Tuesday Club". The weekly Club caters for the city’s ageing Irish community providing lunch and an afternoon of entertainment, including bingo, live music and dancing. Group holidays and outings are also organised. It was established LIC manager Tommy McLoughlin in 2000, and is staffed by more than 30 volunteers who cater for its 200 weekly members.       

Associations & Societies

As the Irish settled in Leeds they formed various clubs, societies and organisations as a result of various interests, passions and causes. Over time people from the same counties and localities came together to form associations, such as Leeds Mayo Association, Leeds Attymass Association and Leeds Knockmore Association. The founders recognised the importance of maintaining connections with friends and relatives. The Leeds Irish Welfare Society and, later, Leeds Irish Health & Homes concerned themselves with the welfare and well-being of the Irish community, particularly those who were marginalised or had found themselves in difficult circumstances.

More recently, several Irish cultural organisations have appeared on the Leeds scene. Formed in 2002, Leeds Irish Historical & Cultural Society, which owes it roots to the Mount Saint Mary’s History Group, is concerned with the history of the Leeds Irish community and family history. In the same year Lucht Focail (meaning "People of the Word") Irish Writers’ Group was formed, which is dedicated to encouraging and promoting the written word in all its literary forms - poetry, short stories, novels and drama. And not forgetting the Irish Arts Foundation, which developed from the earlier Harehills Irish Music Project, the aim of which is to raise the profile of Irish music and the arts throughout Britain and to celebrate the many contributions that Irish people have made to British society.

Irish Days

Long gone are the dark days when Irish culture and heritage were quietly tended to in small pubs and parochial halls. Since the late 1990s two Irish festivals have been developed either side of the River Aire. The Leeds Irish Festival, which is located in Beeston in South Leeds, annually showcases all that is best about Irish music, song, dance, sport, and food. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in Leeds City Centre in 2000 and has since grown to become one of the City’s most vibrant cultural events. Both events allow the Leeds Irish Community to take to the streets and flaunt its heritage.

RECOMMENDED READING:

IRISH CULTURE

H. Brennan, The Story of Irish Dance, Dingle, 1999.
J. Cleary & C. Connolly (eds), Cambridge Guide to Modern Irish Culture, Cambridge, 2005.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Leeds), Leeds 25: Silver Jubilee, Leeds, 1994.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Leeds), Leeds 20: Twenty Years A-Growing, Leeds, 1989.
E. Corry, An Illustrated History of the GAA, Dublin, 2006.
M. Cronin, et al (eds), The GAA: A People’s History, Cork, 2009.
R. Hickey, Irish English: History & Present Day Forms, Cambridge, 2011.
Leeds Irish Centre, Celebrating 40 Years, Leeds, 2010.
M. McCarthy, Passing It On: The transmission of music in Irish culture, Cork, 1999.
E. Purdon, The Story of the Irish Language, Cork, 1999.
F. Vallely (ed.), The Companion to Traditional Irish Music, Cork, 2010.

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