Leeds Irish Centre celebrates its 55th birthday | The Irish Post

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I OFTEN wonder how many people have driven past the Irish Centre on the very busy York Road in Leeds and wondered what's inside.

The Irish Centre is one of Leeds' worst kept secrets because behind its 1970s façade they will find a vibrant community who are an integral part of the city.

Over the 55 years the Centre has been at the forefront of the Irish Diaspora in Leeds, an emerald on the hill looking to the city and standing proud to be part of this thriving city.

In the past, the Irish came here to build our roads and homes and work in our hospitals. Now they come as lawyers, accountants and educators. They still come to work on our roads and houses but now they manage the constructions.

The Diaspora are proud of their roots and the Irish Centre is our home from home.

This is achieved by a dedicated hard working team who between them have over 150 years of service to the Centre. It is not just a job, it's a way of life for them.

Over the past 15 years, we have spent £1.5million refurbishing inside and out, replacing the roof and installing air conditioning and high-tech audio visuals to move with the times.

We are a bit like the NHS, caring for people from cradle to grave - so we hold christening parties, wedding receptions and wakes. Generations of families have memories made within these walls.

Tuesdays, for example, may be a quiet day for many venues but to us it is 'Mad Tuesday'. On an afternoon, we hold the Tuesday Club, set up on 2000 by our famed manager, Tommy McLoughlin MBE, to combat loneliness among the older generation.

Up to 300 older people spend an afternoon enjoying a cooked lunch, bingo, music, dancing and meeting and making friends. It is a lifeline for many.

On an early evening, we have music lessons for the children to learn and develop their music skills.

Between September and December last year we hosted 43 gigs, welcoming bands of the future. Many use us as a warm up to Glastonbury and it's great to see the rooms packed with young people enjoying live music.

Through the decades, we have raised more than £5million for charities across the region. Last Christmas alone, we handed out £18,000 in food vouchers to families in need. Easter time we deliver dozens of Easter eggs to children.

Our legendary fund raising has seen us fund everything from kidney machines to scanners at the city's St James Hospital Oncology Suite, heart scanning software to Arthritis Research.

From children's hospice Martin House to St Gemma's Hospice for adults, food banks to supporting one of our own, ex-Leeds Rhinos rugby league player Rob Burrow's MND charity - the generosity of the community reaches far beyond the walls that surround it.

We are the Irish Centre and are proud of our heritage, paying respect to those who have gone before us and paved the way - in all senses - for us today.

But we have an open door policy and welcome everyone - we always have - irrespective of ethnicity, religion or nationality.

Looking forward we intend to continue being the heart of our community - 55 years is just the start.

I started here as a glass washer and I am proud now to be the centre's chairman. But we only hold this place in trust for the next generation.

It is a treasure, much loved not just by Leeds but beyond the city's boundaries. We are ensuring it is in a healthy position for the next generation to look after it.

Our thanks go to those who had the vision to put us here, the fortitude of those who have kept us here and the knowledge that our future is to remain as the beacon on the hill for our community and our city.

Tommy McLoughlin MBE manager of the Leeds Irish Centre was at the 1970 opening night of the centre acting as Master of Ceremonies to a then 23-year-old singer, Brendan Shine. He tells The Irish Post his story...

"This year marks my 50 as manager. What has the centre meant to me? Quite simply, after my wife and children, it is my life.

This also applies to my assistant manager and great friend, Christy Power, who has notched up a mere 49 years here.

We, as a centre, have always appreciated Leeds and the county welcoming us with open arms and we hope we have paid back that kindness many times over.

It gives me great pleasure to see the third and fourth generations of families walking through our doors.

We have worked hard and I was so proud on our 25 anniversary for the centre to be debt-free - paying off our mortgage and loans for land.

The centre remains the beating heart of the community, in robust health, for our future generations. I remain proud to have helped, along with our amazing staff, to continue to play a part in that."