PÁS ÉIREANNACH MHANCHAIN
MANCHESTER IRISH PASSPORT: HERITAGE HUNT
Explore Manchester Irish history, present, heritage & culture using your Manchester Irish Passport booklet.
1. Get your Manchester Irish Passport booklet from the Irish Community Care Office or from our Siopa na hÉireann in the Irish Village at St Ann’s Square for £2.50. Or download a free PDF version here and print it at home or use a notebook for your answers instead.
2. Follow the clues & addresses on each spot and see if you can find out their Irish connection or stories.
3. Once you know the location’s name (or old name) that the clue is referring to, write it down in the spot or in your notebook/piece of paper.
4. If you’d like to delve further into the histories and stories, or are struggling to find the answers, you can head to our webpage with all the answers and a brief description of its Irish connection by scanning the QR code or clicking here.
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NA FREAGRAÍ
THE ANSWERS (SPOILERS BELOW)
​​1. Ard Ri, Hulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MPkviDotufLshVyJA
IT’S IRISH STORY: Sadly, no longer still open, The Ard Ri was a dance hall, and later named the New Ard Ri it became a Dance Club, but it was always a long-standing Irish venue. It hosted bands such as Fugazi and Sonic Youth in the mid-80s. Then, in the early days of dance many soon-to-be-massive bands and DJs played at the seminal Herbal Tea Party nights.​​
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​​2. Little Ireland Plaque, Manchester City Centre
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/J55rdYComzBbXfdr9
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IT’S IRISH STORY: ‘Built in 1827. Vacated 1847. Demolished 1867’ reads the plaque near Oxford Road Station, marking the spot where the notorious slum was. It’s estimated that around 4,000 Irish people lived there in poor conditions as they fled the Great Hunger and to seek job opportunities in industrial Manchester.
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“A horde of ragged women and children swarm about here, as filthy as the swine that thrive upon the garbage heaps and in the puddles.” So said journalist, activist, theorist, and economist Friedrich Engels before helping like-minded friend Karl develop what became Marxism. – Manchester’s Finest
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​​3. The Astoria/The Carousel, Hulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HaueCihe1QfAmjb86
IT’S IRISH STORY: Sadly, no longer still open, The Astoria/Carousel Club dance hall was where the Irish community in Manchester would meet watch showbands that would travel from Ireland and all over the world to perform there, and dance with each other.
It was at its height in the 1970’s, but saw famous faces before that, including 10th October 1963 Johnny Cash (with June Carter & The Tennessee Three) made their first ever UK concert appearance, at the Astoria Irish Club, Plymouth Grove, Manchester (later The Carousel; still later, International 2).
It was right in the middle of the main local Irish population, many of whom used it almost as their local pub. It was when Irish Showbands were at the height of their popularity and the main evening show was headlined by The Royal Blues of Waterford, supported on the little side-stage by Manchester's biggest country act of the time, Frank Yonco & The Texas Drifters. Cash & Co appeared in a midnight show.
pic: chrisjfarrel
pic: Brian Smith
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​​4. The Constance Mackiewicz Mosaic, People’s History Museum Manchester
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MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pxe4v5295dMnCmAM8
IT’S IRISH STORY: A mosaic artwork by Mark Kennedy, from the mosaic collection of Irish revolutionary that is scheduled to remain at the museum until 2nd June 2025.
Countess Constance Markievicz was a trailblazing Irish revolutionary, politician, and social activist who defied conventions and fought tirelessly for Irish independence, women’s rights, and social justice. She was a key figure in the 1916 Easter Rising, the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, and the first female cabinet minister in Ireland. Find out more here.
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​​5. John Ryland’s Library Founder Marble Statues, Deansgate, Manchester
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MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CaWrWXwEknd7Z3qu5
IT’S IRISH STORY: The John Rylands Library in Manchester city centre is a is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building built in 1899, now part of the University of Manchester Library.
Two large marble statues of the library’s founders – John and Enriqueta Augustina Rylands – were made by Irish sculptor John Cassidy in 1907.
Cassidy was born in Co. Meath in 1860 and moved to Dublin at the age of 20 to find work. He won a scholarship to study in Milan and after two years moved to Manchester, where he lived for the rest of his life.
He created numerous public sculptures, especially war memorials and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Hibernian Academy and in Manchester City Art Gallery. – From the Irish Post
pic: Chris Curry
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​​6. Mother Mary’s, Manchester City Centre
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/M9JVRrEfJ5pdRmLZ6
IT’S IRISH STORY: Irish Bar & Live Music Venue located off Oxford Road, Manchester.
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​​7. Mulligan's, Manchester City Centre
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uy7GeX6c6qnib8rG6
IT’S IRISH STORY: Traditional Irish Bar in Manchester Renowned for a great pint of Guinness, superb craic and atmosphere.
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​​8. O'Shea's, Manchester City Centre
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rX44ZQ3EgCeAKqcX8
IT’S IRISH STORY: O'Sheas has live music Thurs-Sun; live sport on the big screen: football, rugby, GAA, boxing & all other major sporting events; plus our delicious new food menu with Robert Owen Brown's O'Sheas Egg & our Irish gin selection!
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​​9. St John’s Cemetery, Moston (Manchester Matryr's Monument)
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iNN7PHySPrqAWExL8
IT’S IRISH STORY: This Roman Catholic burial ground is home to a Celtic cross cut from limestone rising 20 feet high designed by J. Geraghty in tribute to the Manchester Martyrs: William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O’Brien. The three men were convicted of murder in 1867 after an attack on a police van in the city left one officer dead. None were accused of firing the gun, no evidence suggested they did, but England’s courts sentenced all to public hanging, their involvement in the Fenians, a group dedicated to ending British rule in Ireland, considered a key trigger in “retribution swift and stern”. The piece is considered at risk by the Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project, and has witnessed disturbances, attacks, and protests since its 1898 unveiling. – Manchester’s Finest
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​​10. Irish World Heritage Centre, Cheetham Hill
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BSyb4jpqpaYgBeNn6
IT’S IRISH STORY: As well as us hosting our Wednesday over 50’s lunch club and our weekly advice drop-in sessions on the same day, The Irish World Heritage Centre (IWHC) is a modern and accessible conference and events venue based in Manchester.
It is a major hub for the Irish community in the northwest of England, with a diverse programme of traditional cultural activities. These include Irish music, dance and Irish language groups.
The Irish World Heritage Centre showcases a unique bar, ‘The Wild Geese Bar’ which has panoramic views of Manchester city centre. The bar opens out onto a large garden, which is enclosed by an Iron-Age Celtic fort style wall.
The centre is home to a shop selling your favourite Irish food brands. It also has a popular cafe serving Irish Breakfasts, light bites and delicious Irish Sunday Dinners.
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​​11. Angel Meadow
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Vo48VQGr58QiTqCk7
IT’S IRISH STORY: Covering 33 acres and now the site green space and a park, in the 19th Century, Angel Meadow was a slum that between 20,000 and 30,000 Irish people lived. Escaping the Famine in Ireland and settling in industrial Manchester to find work, people lived in extremely poor conditions in cellars beneath lodging houses.
Friedrich Engels wrote this about Angel Meadow: "The lowest, most filthy, most unhealthy and most wicked locality in Manchester is called, singularly enough, 'Angel-meadow.' It is full of cellars and inhabited by prostitutes, their bullies, thieves, cadgers, vagrants, tramps and, in the very worst sties of filth and darkness, by those unhappy wretches the 'low Irish.'
pic: Angel Meadow, 1897, The Irish Post
pic: Angelina Dimitrova
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​​12. Irish Community Care Manchester Office, Levenshulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/A7H7RB7fGPzrtMmW7
IT’S IRISH STORY: Irish Community Care Manchester is a charity that offers comprehensive support, advice, and information services that are open not only to the Irish and Irish Travelling communities but to anyone from the wider community that needs our help. We also offer cultural activities & events, focussing on connecting with Irish heritage & culture, and improving wellbeing through connecting with others.
Irish Community Care Manchester was established in 1987, by pioneering volunteers, to meet the needs of Irish and Irish Travellers settling in Manchester.
Many people who arrived and settled in Manchester had little or no support. They left their home in Ireland to find work in England. Very often the new arrivals had neither financial support nor the necessary information about services that could help them. Head to our contact page.
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​​13. Bia Café Bar, Levenshulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gvSsp9uVSXsBewRt8
IT’S IRISH STORY: Opening in the heart of Levenshulme in 2024, Bia Café Bar has fast become a community hub for the Irish community (and more) in South Manchester. It boasts a traditional Irish food menu including full Irish breakfast, hearty stews and lighter bites, and modern Irish favourites like spice bags and Guinness cake. It also has a fully stocked bar, with inventive cocktails and a great pour of Guinness too. There’s also a selection of imported goodies that will make you feel at home!
You’ll find many cultural events & activities happening at Bia, including weekly & impromptu traditional music sessions, Irish language classes, live Irish music of all genres and craft events.
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​​14. St Marys Presbytery Parish Centre, Levenshulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rXDqQwgenSCNGw8P7
IT’S IRISH STORY: Located next to the Church with access from Elbow Street, Levenshulme, St Mary’s is where Irish Community Care host our weekly Tuesday over 50’s lunch group, that aim to bring members of the community together over a light lunch, live music and games, as well as hosting our Ceili-cise and other events here.
The centre is available to hire.
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​​15. The Horseshoe, Levenshulme
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MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/F3RsvGvjqkcuMVDU6
IT’S IRISH STORY: Home to live music, sports tv showings and good craic, The Horseshoe is an Irish pub just off Stockport Road in Levenshulme. They host a Christmas Market in the winter and are the proud owners of ‘The Paddy Wagon’, a tongue-in-cheek name for their food van, which also travels with them to festivals like Craic by the Creek and can be seen feeding punters in the summer at the pub itself.
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​​16. Hough End Fields, Levenshulme
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jNMCq1w2CeWVdkcJA
IT’S IRISH STORY: Here, you’ll find many GAA clubs. This includes Gaelic football’s St Peter’s and St Lawrence’s and the only hurling club in Manchester, Fullen Gaels. Find out more about Greater Manchester’s GAA clubs by visiting lancashiregaa.com
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​​17. St Kentigern’s Parish Hall, Fallowfield
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UvoJ555rfMh17atU9
IT’S IRISH STORY: Located just 3 miles from the city centre of Manchester, St Kentigern’s Parish Hall in Fallowfield has a long history as a parish hall used and frequented by the Manchester Irish community, and even has a decorate piece of log outside its doors reading ‘cead mile failte’, a famous Irish language phrase that you’ll often see at Irish venues or homes.
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​​18. Kennedy’s Irish Bar, Altrincham
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UvoJ555rfMh17atU9
IT’S IRISH STORY: A traditional Irish bar based in the heart of Altrincham. A home away from home to enjoy a great pint of Guinness, along with some delicious food and great atmosphere!
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​​19. Irish Deli, Altrincham
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/r57uG9r4hE6aTSPm8
IT’S IRISH STORY: Describing themselves as ‘a taste from home’, the Irish Deli, established in 2024, serve all things Irish based in Altrincham. It’s a small business offering a sit in and take away service of coffees, freshly prepared sandwiches and cakes, alongside a fabulous selection of Irish produce.
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​​20. Brian Boru Irish Club, Wigan (Ashton-in-Makerfield)
MAP LOCATION: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zyEJTJUo7sUDz5yk6
IT’S IRISH STORY: The oldest Irish club in the UK, having been established in 1889, the Brian Boru Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan is a community hub there. The home of several cultural events & activities including their Monday Claddagh Group, language and dance classes, a film club, a running club and traditional Irish music sessions.
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​​21. Bolton Irish Association
IT’S IRISH STORY: Preserving Irish Heritage, Building Connections and Enriching Lives – Bolton Irish Association is your home for culture, community and celebration in the heart of Bolton, by bringing Bolton’s Irish community together to celebrate our heritage, share stories, and enjoy great company. From music to community events, there’s something for everyone – and everyone’s welcome!
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ONLINE EXTRAS
Manchester Cailini Facebook Group
The Irish Community Care Manchester Cailíní facebook group, is a closed group for young women in the Manchester Irish diaspora. The aim of the group is to connect young Irish women and women of Irish heritage with one another and with their culture. We will be organising a variety of meetups, activities, and events across the city.
If you would like to get involved with planning these events, or have any queries or ideas, please contact our Cultural Events Co-ordinator at a.austin@irishcommunitycare.com or on 07305065801
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Lancashire GAA - Gaelic Games in the North West of England
Lancashire GAA are responsible for the running of Gaelic Games, including Hurling, Camogie and Football in the North West of England and the Isle of Man.
Let us know how you get on and send us any pics of you exploring the Manchester Irish Passport: Heritage Hunt!
headoffice@irishcommunitycare.com