THE LONDON
IRISH CENTRE A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
T
he London Irish Centre in the city’s Camden district is to get a £15 million makeover to transform it into a world class community and cultural centre fit for the 21st Century, while remaining true to the 65 year-old organisation’s roots as the heart of the Irish community - caring for and supporting the oldest, most vulnerable and isolated Irish in London. With the building dating back to the 1850s - and actually consisting of three original homes which form the front façade, the aim is to almost double its usable space to 36,000 sq.ft. The four-year redevelopment will enhance the centre’s existing community, care and wellbeing facilities, while providing a new community café, bar, work and meeting space. It will also improve event and performance space, creating an important cultural asset for Camden and London. The centre’s Irish identity will be further emphasised through technology, design and storytelling, all within a building that incorporates the latest sustainable design features, says Dubliner Sean Kennedy, who has been its Chief Executive since 2016. The social entrepreneur and businessman first became involved at the Centre in 2009, when he became a volunteer, befriending a man from Monaghan who was at the time suffering with health and alcohol related issues. “A key design feature is to curate the story of the Irish in London. We will
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tell that story using digital technology, materials and original memorabilia. Irishman Finbarr Whooley, Director of Content at the Museum of London, is working with us on this,” he says. Other members of the Irish community are also helping out in various ways. Musician Ed Sheeran and TV Presenter Dermot O’Leary are perhaps the most high-profile Patrons. Chef Richard Corrigan is working on the kitchen design for the new building. Legal and consultancy services have been provided pro-bono by Garrett Hayes at Paul Hastings and Adrian Brady at Eulogy with BITA and a number of its members also supporting in various ways. The Irish government pledged an initial £1 million to the project in January, emphasising that it should be a flagship cultural project, as good, if not better than the Irish Arts Centre in New York, or the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. “You have to remember that London is the third largest Irish city, in terms of population, after Dublin and Belfast,” says Kennedy. 430,000 people in Britain identified themselves as Irish-born in the last census there, in 2011, with more than an estimated 140,000 of those living in the capital. “This centre is a lifeline for our community. Over half of the Irish population in London are over 65. It’s about that vital support we provide to them. At any time we are running between 15 and 20 welfare and community-related projects, and they’re all extremely busy.
CARE, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY, AN ICONIC VENUE, AND AN IRISH FLAG OVER THE DOOR.
