Newsletter - Feb 10 by Anna Franks

Newsletter February 2010

Collaboration SPECIAL

It is increasingly common across the private, public and voluntary sector to find organisations working in partnership to get the best results for their customers, with each organisation bringing their particular skills and expertise to every partnership. With the economic downturn

and cuts in public spending already affecting organisations across the country, this becomes an ever more sensible way to make best use of resources. In this edition of the FIS newsletter we have a number of articles and case studies about collaboration between

our members and across the voluntary sector. As well as breaking the myths about collaboration (that organisations lose their autonomy and independence) we will be looking at different collaboration options and specific opportunities for sharing between our members.

Emigrant Support Budget Cuts

FIS Raises Concerns: Hannigan Secures Debate In view of the substantial cut backs in public spending in the Irish budget this year, FIS was keen to identify the implications for members’ services which are funded under the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP). In July 2009, An Bord Snip Nua, the committee charged with reviewing public expenditure and making recommendations to the government on cut backs, suggested that the ESP budget be cut by one million euros (about 10% of last year’s budget). Given the need for FIS members to plan for services and ensure long term sustainability, FIS petitioned Senator Dominic Hannigan to ask parliament for more explicit details about the actual cut being made in this years’ budget. Senator Hannigan received a written response stating that the

Emigrant Support Programme has actually been reduced by 14%. The reduction in the budget applies to the global ESP budget which includes support for Irish communities in Europe, North and South America and beyond, so we cannot confirm what proportion of the cut backs will be felt by services and ESP funded activities in Britain. A cut of 14% of the budget allocation to Britain however could have serious implications for many of our members and other services who receive ESP. We raised this further concern with Senator Hannigan who reiterated to the House some of the extensive work done by Irish services in the UK to support those within the Irish community in Britain who are particularly vulnerable and he further called for a debate on 1

the needs of the community here and the impact of service provision by those organisations. We are delighted to report that the senator secured an agreement to such a debate. Senator Hannigan released a press statement after the sitting in the House. Senator Hannigan’s press release reads: Speaking in Leinster House Senator Dominic Hannigan has called for a debate on the reduction by 14% of funding for emigrants support organisations. The cut is much more than what was recommended on the McCarthy (An Bord Snip Nua) report and reduces the allocation at a time when emigration is rising and Irish citizens abroad are being hit by the global downturn. Senator Hannigan said: “I know there is disappointment in continued on page 2

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FIS exists to represent and develop our members and the Irish Community

Contents

Cover Stories Emigrant Support Budget Cuts 2 Note from the CEO 3 Funding News 4 Collaboration 6 Irish Management Consortium (IMC) Southern and Midlands Club Managers Regional Meetings 7 Outcome Management Solution 8 Midlands Advice & Support Workers Forum 9 FIS National Meeting Vetting & Barring Scheme Roadshow 10 St Patrick’s Day in London: FIS Health Bus Rides Again Frances, Patrick & Leigh leave FIS Celtic & Irish Society AGM The Fureys & Davey Arthur 11 Comhaltas Tour 2010 Oxford Irish Society Events Irish Storyteller Claire Muireann Murphy Leeds Irish Centre: 40 Years Nottingham St Patrick’s Parade 12 Irish History Month FIS Contact Details continued from front page the proposed 14 per cent reduction in support funding. This is greater than the cut proposed by An Bord Snip Nua and very disappointing. It will mean that without a doubt, services will suffer. Already there has been an increase in the incidence of dementia among older Irish people living in the United Kingdom and also an increase in the number of Irish people being made homeless. “The majority of the funding from the Emigrant Support Programme goes to welfare and advisory groups who deal with those at the front line of poverty. These people are often marginalised in the new community they moved to because of a lack of opportunity at home. “These cuts will mean reduction in funding support for cultural centres, places in which first, second and third generation Irish learn about their heritage and culture. It is very important that we support Irish citizens who had to leave these shores to seek a better future abroad.” A debate will now take place on the issue after the Leader of the Seanad agreed with Senator Hannigan’s concerns and consented to a debate at an early date.

Note from the CEO

The year has started with some significant changes here at FIS. Whilst we are keeping a strong regional presence with staff located in Manchester and Lancashire, we have closed the office in Manchester and revised our management structure and administration outlay. Whilst there are significant benefits to this move it has regrettably resulted in the loss of some valued staff including Frances McAuley, Patrick Marmion and Leigh Monaghan. Frances and Patrick both contributed massively to our capacity building activities over the last five years and Leigh ran our Manchester office and dedicatedly supported all the staff up there. We wish them all the very best for their future careers. Rita Corrigan has taken on the role of managing the capacity building team and we welcome Judd Ryan to the team as a policy intern working alongside Seán in our London office. With elections fast approaching we are initiating a campaign to highlight the needs and aspirations of the Irish community. Drawing on our ongoing feedback from the community we plan to develop a manifesto for the Irish community and engage a number of prospective parliamentary candidates to meet with the community in several venues across the country; we will be sending out regular updates on this but you can also contact me directly if you want to contribute to our efforts in this area. Collaboration has been a key theme for us over the last six months and is becoming evermore pressing as we seek to find ways to ensure we are more sustainable. I hope you will find something which resonates for your organisation in this month’s newsletter. Thanks to all those members who submitted case studies for our submission to the EHCR on discrimination. You will find our response on the website later this week. Our policy work continues and after a successful meeting at the Department of Health to highlight the exclusion of the Irish in a number of key policy documents we have been invited onto the National Cancer Strategy Advisory Group. Finally as St Patrick’s Day approaches it is developing into a pivotal day for FIS as we seek to engage the community in a number of different events. We will be running a health bus in London, collecting information about the Census, looking for potential volunteers and publicising lots of our work and those of our member organisations. If you would like to support FIS activities as a volunteer at any of the London or Birmingham events please get in contact. 2

Funding News ARTS GRANTS Aimed at projects that engage people in the arts, or that help artists or arts organisations in England. Online application submissions will be accepted from Monday 1 March 2010. For more information, please see http:// www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/

BIG LOTTERY FUND ANNOUNCES NEW YOUTH PROGRAMME The Big Lottery Fund has announced that it will spend at least £30m next year on projects that support young people, with five-year grants of between £150,000 and £500,000 in total, although it is possible that larger grants will be made available for projects that support young carers, people leaving care and young offenders. The new funding will be given to charities and public sector bodies that assist young carers, young people leaving care and young offender institutions.

YOUNG ROOTS (AGED 13-25) The Young Roots grants aims to engage young people aged 13 to 25 in finding out about their heritage. Projects stem directly from the interest and ideas of young people and must relate to the varied heritage of the UK and provide new opportunities for a wider range of young people aged 13 to 25 to learn about their own and others’ heritage. Projects must also create new opportunities for young people to either volunteer in heritage initiatives or gain skills in identifying, recording, interpreting or caring for heritage. The programme offers grants of £3000 to 25,000. For more information go to: http://www.hlf.org. uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/youngroots. aspx.

CHILDREN IN NEED BBC Children in Need general grants programme is open to organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people aged 18 years and under. Projects can apply for Small Grants of £10, 000 a year for up to three years or Main Grants over £10,000 for up to three years. The Small Grants Programme is designed to help Children in Need “connect with organisations which are at the heart of local communities” and ensure that its grants reach as many projects as possible. Deadlines each have a 14-week turnaround with the next commencing 15th April, 15th July and 15th October 2010. For further information and to download an application form please follow the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ pudsey/grants/

YOUR HERITAGE The Your Heritage grants are aimed at helping communities learn about their local, regional or national heritage in the UK (except the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) and take part in related activities. The programme offers grants between £3000 and £50,000 for projects that help people to learn about, look after and celebrate heritage in a fun and enjoyable way. Programme priorities The three aims of the projects relate to learning, conservation and participation. To receive a grant your project must help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage. Projects must also do either or both of conserving the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy and helping more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage. Application process Your Heritage is a rolling programme and there are no deadlines for applications. More information: www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/ yourheritage.aspx

SPORTS ENGLAND SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME The Sport England Small Grants Programme supports local community sport projects which seek to increase participation, sustain participation or develop opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport. You can apply for any sum from £300 to £10,000 but the total project cost cannot exceed £50,000. It is open to any bona fide not-for-profit club or association, statutory body or educational establishment. For more information and to apply visit the website: http://www.sportengland.org/funding/small_ grants.aspx. photographs: thanks to the Cara Arts Therapy Class (top) and the Irish Rugby Football Union (bottom).

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It is likely that the recession will soon start to bite at the future sustainability of some Irish organisations, if it hasn’t already. Not only is funding getting more difficult to obtain but there are the other problems such as how to keep costs down when prices are rising, how to make premises pay for themselves, how to keep or recruit new Trustees with relevant skills for this changing world …. These issues all help to pile on the pressure – perhaps even placing services at risk. So it is becoming more important that voluntary organisations, including those serving the Irish community, think seriously about how they might maintain services for the benefit of their service users and community members into the future. Working together or ‘collaboration’ is one way that some Irish organisations are starting to tackling these issues. Collaboration can provide a collective power base which may mean increased access to information, more effective lobbying, greater bargaining power and could include costs savings as organisations may share what’s called ‘ back office functions’. Collaboration can take many forms – ranging from ‘simple and temporary’ to ‘involved and permanent’ arrangements, with many things in between. Some of our affiliates are already collaborating across the range of ways - examples include: • Informal network sharing information or joint project work where you join forces temporarily to work to a higher standard, or to reach

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a wider audience, or share the costs eg a joint organised health conference or an event. Buying consortiums in order to get cost discounts by buying collectively. Citizens Advice has recently offered Federation members the opportunity to buy ‘Adviser Net’ between them, thus reducing the cost to each member. Whereas the Irish Management Consortium (IMC) has taken joint buying to a higher level and formed a buying consortium (see page 6). Providing satellite services Irish Community Care Merseyside (ICCM) is currently providing a satellite service at the Brian Boru Club in Ashton in Makerfield as ICCM can offer the expertise and management support required without placing an unnecessary burden on the Club. Selling/buying back office functions where one organisation sells services to another eg Birmingham Irish Community Forum (BICF) has just started to buy a management service and office space from the Irish Welfare & Information Centre (IWIC) (see case study 1). Forming Partnerships to be able to tender as a consortium or a cluster of organisations for larger contracts to provide a wider range of services such as holistic care services for the elderly. Or, as in the case of Bolton Heritage & Cultural Society, forming a new collective as a limited 4

company to develop cultural events (see case study 2). • Merger where two or more organisations become one. BICF are currently consulting their affiliates about the idea of a potential merger with IWIC at some point in the future. (See Case Study 1). All of these options have some risks but they also have many benefits. Some people have been reluctant to collaborate in the past, perhaps because they have concerns about losing identity or independence or just because it’s not been done before. These are real fears to be thought through, but there are also many benefits to be gained - the biggest one being the potential for survival and the ultimate benefit to the community. It’s the service user that needs to be at the heart of what we all do - if the service dies because we left it too late to act then the service user will suffer. Taking Collaboration Forward Meetings and a workshop are being organised in the Midlands in February and March to explore ideas, opportunities and risks involved in closer working relationships. These meetings are being facilitated by a consultant funded by the Modernisation Fund Bursary who has expertise in the area of social enterprise and ‘cluster’ formation. If you are interested in the topic or in participating in these exploratory meetings, contact Helen White hwhite@irishsocieties.org or Rita Corrigan rcorrigan@ irishsocieties.org or call 0121 622 4169 asap.

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Collaboration SPECIAL

CASE STUDY 1: Irish Organisations In Birmingham And Midlands To Work Collaboratively The Federation has been making use of the Capacity Builder’s Modernisation Fund to underpin work with member organisations. It also alerted and briefed Birmingham Irish Community Forum (BICF) about the opportunity, and both organisations have each drawn down two rounds of grants worth collectively £20,000 to be used on specialist consultancy support. The original intention was to make general use of the funding to explore collaboration between FIS members in the West Midlands. However, with BICF facing financial cutbacks, the Forum’s future and the possibility of a merger with Irish Welfare & Information Centre (IWIC) quickly emerged as a priority issue and so Federation support was channelled into supporting the process and keeping an eye on the effect this would have on smaller Irish community groups in Birmingham. As a result, the Trustee boards of IWIC and BICF have been in discussion for several months about the opportunity to work more closely together. The key themes have been the desire to combine the strengths of the two organisations to better serve the Irish community in Birmingham and also to ensure best use of scarce resources. These discussions have also involved contributions from the Federation of Irish Societies and the Irish Embassy. The boards have agreed that the first step to closer collaboration would be a

harmonisation of management arrangements and so it has been agreed that the management team from IWIC be contracted to provide operational management support to BICF staff, whilst strategic and governance responsibilities remain with the BICF board. The boards have also agreed that the BICF staff and office functions will be based at the IWIC offices in Alcester Street from the end of January 2010. BICF’s funding award from

‘Collaboration can take many forms – ranging from ‘simple and temporary’ to ‘involved and permanent’ arrangements with many things in between.’ the modernisation fund is being used, up to March 2010, in part to undertake a consultation with affiliate organisations and other stakeholders about the longer term structure, with a view to potential merging of the two organisations. Iestyn Williams, Chair of BICF said “We want to find ways to maintain and improve the services we provide, especially in the light of the economic climate both here and in Ireland. By carrying out a thorough consultation, we hope to involve everyone with a stake in the work of the Forum in these discussions.” Eamon Duffy, Chair of IWIC 5

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Collaboration SPECIAL

commented: “The hoped for outcome is a more coherent structure to improve services to the Irish community. It will also provide better communication and liaison opportunities for our two organisations to work more closely together and consult with more organisations in both the statutory and voluntary sectors. This will enable both IWIC and BICF to identify the needs and issues of our community as well as focus on the needs and developments of the wider community in Birmingham and the Midlands”. They are contacting all member groups but if individuals from affiliate organisations would like to be involved in the consultation please contact the BICF office. The new contact details for BICF are: BICF, St Anne’s Community Centre, Alcester Street, Deritend, Birmingham, B12 0PH. Telephone 0121 772 9425 With BICF and IWIC working hard on their collaboration, the Federation has been involved in resourcing, supporting and facilitating the process and also in working with the Festival and Heritage Groups to ensure that their existing collaborative work continues and that they can find their place in the changing local scene. During February and March 2010 the Federation is using part of its second stage Modernisation Fund grant for its original purpose - to explore the potential for collective working in the Midlands. The hope is to develop some models that can then be replicated elsewhere.

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CASE STUDY 2 : Cultural Services Initiative Bolton Heritage & Cultural Society – Gaelach Ceiliuradh (BHCS) had been considering setting up a regional event that would have two main objectives:

• Bring Irish organisations together to present a flagship event that would significantly raise the profile of Irish culture and the work of Irish clubs & cultural projects in the region; • To provide new resources and funding that could be reinvested in clubs and cultural projects to help them to develop their cultural educational and community programmes and activities. The BHCS approached the Reebok stadium in Bolton and secured their interest for a initial feasibility meeting. They then approached FIS to support this process. The FIS Cultural Development Officer, Ged Kelly, helped the group to design and deliver their presentation to the Reebok & DeVere’s management teams. The group secured the venue at no cost for an event in July 2010. FIS has since helped the BHCS to set up a new limited company with Directors representing other key clubs/cultural projects from across the region and are currently advising them on the event management plan. FIS will continue to train, advise and support the new company towards a successful and significant event. If interested in joining the group contact: Shaun Bourke 07886 615281.

The Irish Management consortium is well on its way now with more and more suppliers becoming involved. If you would like to make savings or get support, please contact Tracey Dolan who will be happy to let you have further details and information tdolan@irishmc.org

This is a not for profit social enterprise created to support you - take advantage of it!

The following products and services are now available at very competitive terms: Every type of insurance from employers liability to car insurance/ office supplies/ stationery / furniture, guaranteed to be competitive/ lottery machines and tickets to bingo tickets and gaming machines, a must for fund raising/ credit card machines no set up charge and very competitive rates, a must to have in your club/ stock taking /weekly accounts management /monthly profit and loss statements/ PRS audits (make sure you’re not paying too much!) training on how to do your own accounts/ every Sage software package and training you could wish for!! All at very competitive prices/ do you want to take charitable donations online? /computers !! what ever your needs are we can source them for you, from a first time starter pack to server maintenance/ projectors / internet access etc/ solicitors ! do you need a good one? Human resources We have a package to suit your budget, do you have problems with staff and unsure how to tackle them, we can help ! no matter what the issues from unfair dismissal to management training we have it covered. All at a price to suit your budget, unlike these big nationals we will hold your hand through every delicate matter and difficult situation. This is fantastic service and already having a major impact in the consortium, one club had paid over £1000.00 just for a solicitor to come and attend a disciplinary meeting… For more information and an application form: info@irishmc.org

Southern and Midlands Club Managers Regional Meetings

The current financial situation is making it even harder in what is already a very difficult trade. With over 52 pubs closing down every week we urgently need to look at all aspects of our operation in order to manage costs and risk and to focus on forward planning. This is traditionally the quiet period so I would like to suggest we arrange a regional meeting to create an opportunity to share good practice with each other and look at ways in which the Federation can support you and how you can support yourselves. If you are interested in attending this meeting please contact John Gradwell on 07962567232 or email jgradwell@irishsocieties.org. 6

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Outcome Management Solution

Continuing our collaboration SPECIAL Danny Maher reports on CHC’s data collection and information reporting project Here at Cricklewood Homeless Concern (CHC) we are, like every other charity, working hard to withstand the current financial challenges and find ways to make our job that bit easier. Many of you will recognise the shifting ratio between a demand for high quality transparent outcome data and actual front line service provision. No one would argue against the customer being the most important part of our organisations. So why then do we need to spend so much time filling out forms, recording activity and information about people, cross referencing the data, putting it all together, using lots of resources, providing different reports to different

‘[CHC] confidently provide outcome reports that meet our funders’ needs.’

people? I don’t know but here at CHC we have devised a labour saving device which is producing data of a much higher calibre than we previously provided. Over two years ago we created a web based database to capture our information on customers and service impact and now confidently provide outcome reports that meet our funders’ needs and our own organisational management needs. If you have a moment click on the link for an idea of what we are using at the moment http://brentit.org/demo.html.

Last year we created a trading arm with this database development as a trading activity. We are keen to offer FIS members an opportunity to use our database as part of their information management resources. It is an excellent tool to help you manage and forward plan as well enabling your funder to see return on their investment. Recently we began working with a few FIS members on a pilot project to develop a user friendly and effective web based data collection system. Starting with our existing database we are developing it according to the requirements of those on the pilot and will report on the end product in mid February 2010. In parallel we want to ask FIS members across the country, via a survey, to tell us their views on outcome recording and reporting, what methods they use currently and what they would change if they could. Our eventual aim is for FIS members to use this database to both save themselves a lot of time but also to become more sustainable as a result of the immediate and high quality information that they will be able to report on. We are aware that any system, even manual recording, requires a certain amount of affordable resources and capacity. We know that our database has revolutionised our information management and certainly has reduced our costs in this area as well as increased our credibility. Many people whom I talk to 7

Danny Maher CHC CEO

about using databases firstly state that they don’t know how to use them. I was the same myself so it was important to create a system which all of us could use. We provide training and support to staff to use our system and today everyone at CHC now see it as something that has always been around. The benefits of the CHC database include: data is accessible from anywhere eg via the Internet or your mobile; it works with Internet Explorer, Firefox etc, no database technical knowledge needed to input or retrieve data and is easy to manage. It is very flexible ie if you want to add a new project it is a simple process of pointing and clicking on a form. In the pilot phase we have set up the database requirements according to the needs of those on the pilot, spent time with them so that they are familiar with it and confident of using it. It also offers more resilience and data security as it is web-based and the database centralised in a state of the art datacenter. As such, it also lessens our IT admin and costs. An added advantage of a number of agencies using the service would be the ability to aggregate data across geographical areas which in turn would support future commissioning of services. If you would like to know more please email Danny Maher danny@chc-mail.org.

Midlands Advice & Support Workers Forum The Advice and Support Workers Forum meeting in December 2009 had two very interesting speakers whose presentation’s both revolved around ideas for sharing expertise and resources.

Adviser Net Information System CD Rom

• covers all welfare issues from employment to benefits, housing to debt; The first speaker, Gerard Crofton-Martin, • updated CD every month; Citizens Advice National Partnership Development • used daily by 17,000 CAB advisers and Team, spoke about the many roles performed by hundreds of libraries, solicitors, trade Citizens Advice Bureaux. The CAB Service not unions, charities, colleges and community only provide reliable advice services through the organisations. Bureaux but also campaigns for change, influences policy at government level, and works very much Collaboration in partnership with other agencies. Opportunity During the discussion forum we identified a The Federation number of items or action points where Irish has recently Centres and the Federation may want to look arranged at working more closely together with Citizens with Citizens Advice: Advice that a consortium • Citizens Advice to look at separating Romany of Irish organisations could purchase this very Gypsies and Irish Travellers as distinct ethnic valuable resource jointly – each organisation groups when monitoring their enquiries; making considerable savings and improving the • Create opportunities for better relationships accuracy and quality of advice provided to the between Irish centres and individual CAB; community. This is how it might work: Normal • Citizens Advice could support Irish centres cost of Adviser Net is £499 +VAT and £99 +VAT looking to gain the Legal Services Commission for each additional CD (which would be needed (LSC) quality mark; for each location). For 10 users/centres this would • CAB to consider offering their ‘volunteer cost £1489 + VAT, which equates to £148.90 + VAT training’ to Irish centre volunteers; per user/centre. Whereas if purchased individually • Irish centre(s) to consider offering cultural a centre would be looking at £499+VAT, so awareness training to CAB and possibly potentially this would save centres £350 each! reciprocal surgeries and drop ins; If your organisations is interested in this joint • Citizens Advice national policy to look to purchasing idea please contact the Birmingham highlight race issues and recognition of Irish as office of the Federation for more information on an ethnic minority group; 0121 622 4169 or email hwhite@irishsocieties.org • Citizens Advice and Federation nationally to consider closer working on policy issues eg Census 2011; Also presenting at the Advice Workers Forum • Citizens Advice and FIS to explore opportunity was Michelle Bhalroo, Mental Health Community for consortium buying of CD based Development Team based at Midland Heart. information system ‘Advisor Net’ from CAB. There are 500 community development workers (CDWs) across the country working with minority There is also the possibility of offering CAB ethnic communities on mental health issues. They training and support to centre’s staff/volunteers. encourage cultural awareness and understanding To start with Citizens Advice would be interested of different perspectives and have the ‘ear’ of the in organising a small pilot. We want to know if health commissioners. there are any Irish centres that may want their With research showing how everyday problems staff/volunteers to go on CAB training. Citizens can sometimes develop into mental health issues, Advice would then approach the local CAB in which can then escalate into the need for crisis these areas to see if they would be interested in intervention or hospitalisation, community developing the pilot scheme. organisations can play a real role in providing early 8

Ideas for collaboration

Vetting & Barring Scheme Information Roadshow

intervention and support to reduce this risk. To do this, community organisations need to know more about mental health and about cultural aspects. Michelle outlined a proposal to develop a training programme to provide opportunities for greater mental health awareness in front line organisations and in friends and families etc. By sharing knowledge and expertise more people in the community can be well informed and confident in supporting people with potential mental health issues. We are working with Michelle who is seeking funding to run a pilot Irish Mental Health Promotion Training programme in Birmingham in 2010. Ravi Ruberu has recently taken up the position of CDW for the Irish community in Birmingham and he is co-ordinating the mental health awareness training which will be running in February and March 2010 (see flyer for more information). Ravi is based at St Eugene’s Court in Digbeth and can be contacted by email: ravi.ruberu@midlandheart.org. uk or telephone: 0121 622 1833. Are you working in the Irish community? Are you apart of the community and volunteering sector?

If you answered yes then these two day courses could help you; • Raise awareness of Mental Health issues. • Recognize symptoms of Mental Health. • To encourage individuals to get care. • To understand some of the terms used around Mental Health. • To know the policy and law surrounding Mental Health issues.

Please join us between 9:30am and 16:30pm at the below sessions; Day 1 2nd and 3rd March Day 2 23rd and 24th March

There will be ‘Day 1’ sessions in the beginning of March and ‘Day 2’ towards the end. If there are a large number of requests we will be putting on more sessions.

Find us at; St. Eugene’s Court 77 Rea Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6BB Tel: 0121 622 1833 Mobile: 07500 605 788

Please call to confirm your attendance.

In partnership with

FIS National Meeting The next Federation of Irish Societies National Meeting will be held on:-

Saturday 6th March 2010 11am Town Hall, Crossley Street Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 1UJ Car parking close by Workshop: Writing strong funding applications This will be a very practical session looking at a range of relevant application forms and what funders, including the Emigrant Support Programme, are looking for. Trustees and managers applying for funding for their organisation should consider this workshop. 9

The Vetting and Barring Scheme is at the heart of the Government’s strategy to increase the protection of vulnerable members of our society. The Scheme will help prevent harm from happening to children and vulnerable adults by helping to stop those who are deemed ‘unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults’ from working or volunteering with them. The registration site is now open for the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Information Roadshow events taking place in February and March 2010. There will be running a total of 12 events in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Events will last for a total of 3 hours including Question and Answer sessions. The events are designed to explain the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act legislation, including the impact of Sir Roger Singleton’s recent review, set out the practicalities of the application and online checking processes and provide more information on the ISA. The information will help individuals understand the implications of the scheme for them and their organisations, and provide an opportunity to ask questions of the panel. It is expected that attendees will already have some background knowledge of the scheme and how it will apply to their organisation. There will be around 500 places at each event and it is anticipated that they will be fully subscribed. It is important that you only attend the event for which you are registered and that if you are unable to attend you let them know so that they can release the place to people on the waiting lists. If you have any queries on the venues or the registration process please contact the helpline at 0207 403 3023 or email info@vbsroadshow.org. To book a place at an event near you, please register at: http://a.chtah.com/a/ tBLVXiaB7bWmzB74aJqDziCfymq/roadshow. Vetting and Barring Scheme, Home Office. scheme.info@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

St Patrick’s Day in London: FIS Health Bus Rides Again Once again FIS is taking the Health Bus on the road to bring information and health checks to the Irish Community. This is the third year that FIS has taken the Health Bus to the St Patrick’s Day celebration in Trafalgar Square in central London. FIS staff will be assisted by trained nurses and health care professionals. Many of the 100,000 revellers of the two previous years took the opportunity to have the health checks and take away the wideranging literature. The St Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival will take place

on Sunday 14 March 2010. Trafalgar Square will host a main performance stage showcasing the best of Irish music and dance from traditional to contemporary. This free family day out is a fun way to experience all things Irish – food, dance, crafts, culture and music. The Square will also host a Children’s Culture Corner with storytelling, shadow animation, dance, musical instruments, art, drama and poetry and provide children with a experience that is stimulating, educational and,

Wide-ranging health literature

most importantly, lots of fun. The parade, with its colourful array of floats, marching bands from Ireland and the UK and groups representing the Irish Counties, will proceed through central London from Green Park to Trafalgar Square from midday.

Sad Goodbye: Frances, Patrick and Leigh are leaving FIS

Patrick Marmion

Frances McAuley

Frances and Patrick were both long standing members of the FIS staff team. Along with Rita Corrigan they were the original community development workers and both took on senior positions within the capacity building team in 2006. Their understanding of the support

Leigh Monaghan

and development needs within the community led to many of our key FIS initiatives. In her role as coordinator Frances was responsible for the structure and management of the Capacity Building Team, lending her considerable experience to many situations. Along with his wide

breath of knowledge about community development issues Patrick also used his excellent networking skills to develop the Irish Professional Network, now thriving across many cities nationally. It is always difficult to say goodbye to such committed and experienced staff but we are confident they will bring their expertise and experience to bear in many organisations in years to come. Leigh, who worked tirelessly and flexibly to support the Manchester based staff, hopes to commence training as a mental health nurse (alongside his ongoing DJ career) and we wish him the best with this.

The Fureys & Davey Arthur

Celtic and Irish Cultural Society AGM 25th February,

Saturday 17 April Eastleigh Irish Club, 8-10 Station Hill, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO50 9FJ Tickets £25

8.00pm. Elgar Room of The Hawth Theatre in Crawley. Log onto www.celtic-irish.co.uk or phone John Nolan on 01293 513189 for more information.

Contact 07980 880602 or eastleighirishclub@yahoo.co.uk 10

Comhaltas Tour 2010 February 19-27

Once again Comhaltas brings the best in traditional Irish music, song and dance to Britain with the Echoes of Erin Tour 2010. Playing 9 nights across the country the show never fails to please its packed-out audiences. This year’s tour features some of the best traditional musicians from Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Clare, Louth, Mayo, Galway, Leeds and Italy and once again promises to be a concert not to be missed. For more information or to book tickets call 0151 264 7437 or e-mail comhaltas@stmichaelsirishcentre.org

Oxford Irish Society Events

Wednesday 17th March - Cara Club St Patrick’s Day Lunch (supported by Emigrant Support Programme). Contact Bernie for more details and to book your place 01865 711885. Wednesday 17th March - Oxford Irish Society and Eire Og St Patrick’s Day Dance Music by Tom Healey and his Band at the Rover Sports and Social Club, Roman Way, Cowley, Oxford. Tickets £10. Entry by ticket only. Contact Siobhan on 07842 134502 or Rosemary 01865 247926 for tickets and info. Sunday 21st March 7.30pm - AGM - Annual General Meeting Gladiators Club, Iffley Road, Oxford.

Unicorn Theatre 16-22 February

On the Heels of the Hound features classic Irish mythology from Cuchulainn to Finn Mac Cool and beyond. For info contact boxoffice.unicorntheatre.com or call 020 7645 0560. Contact Clare at clare@storytellersunlimited.com.

Nottingham Parade

Leeds Irish Centre The Leeds Irish Centre is about to celebrate a major milestone in its history. The first purpose built Irish centre in the country, it enriched the lives of the Irish community and their many friends from its opening way back in 1970. It has served as a first port of call for many emigrants and continues to provide a friendly ‘home from home’ for the community. The Irish Centre has not only existed for the Irish community in Leeds, it

Irish Storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy

has served as a valuable resource for many groups from across the city, whether as a friendly place to socialise, a very well presented set of function suites, or indeed as in its capacity as one of the premier live music venues in the city. The Leeds Irish Centre is staging a week long celebration beginning with a gala dinner on 5th June 2010. For further information contact Leeds Irish Centre, York Road, Leeds LS9 9NT. Tel 0113 2480807. www.leedsirishcentre..uk 11

On Wednesday 17 March 2010 Nottingham City will again be even greener! when the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade makes its way from the Forest to the Market Square. There will be a free open air concert throughout the afternoon showcasing the best of Irish traditional music, song and dance. The organisers are inviting and helping local schools to prepare costumes and offering an open invitation to other cultural groups in the city community to come and parade with them. The parade and festival brings many people into the city centre to experience the vibrant cultural, shopping and tourism opportunities. The Big Wheel will be in the Market Square to give people a ‘birds eye view’ of events. To find out more visit the website: www.stpatricksdayparadenottingham.co.uk where you can access updated details/timings and pending festival brochure.

Irish History Month

Did you know that throughout the month of March every year, Irish History Month takes place? An initiative brought about by the Irish Arts Foundation, it is now in its fourth year. First celebrated in Leeds in 2007, this year sees the initiative ‘go national’ with events taking place in Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and London. Irish History Month, a pioneering venture in Britain, exists to promote knowledge of Irish History and experiences in Britain and beyond, its purpose is to disseminate information on the many positive contributions that Irish people have made to British society and also to introduce new audiences to the vibrancy of Irish arts, heritage, culture and history. So what’s involved then? There is a programme of events to suit all tastes. The Official Launch of Irish History Month takes place on Thursday 4th March at the prestigious new Leeds City Museum and is to be opened by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Andre Barker. Other guest speakers include: • Gerry Kelly, Embassy of Ireland; • John Roles, Director, Leeds Museums & Galleries; • Dinah Clark, Leeds Arts Partnership; • Brendan McGowan, Galway City Museum; • Bernard Canavan, Irish History Month featured artist; • Collette Mackin, Artistic Director Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith. Experience Ireland on Sunday 7th March a one, day free family-friendly event with lectures, workshops on music, dance and crafts, live traditional Irish music sessions and a range of exhibitions taking place at Seven Arts Centre and Chapel Allerton Library in Leeds between 1pm and 5pm. This year we are delighted to feature lectures from Bernard Canavan and Dr Frank Sweeney who will talk about Irish migration to Britain. We are also pleased to feature flautist Niall Keegan and Bodhran player Mark Maguire

who feature in the afternoon concert. Other events to look out for in Leeds include: • a recital from Lucht Focail (people of the word) Poets, who bring an Irish dimension to the Headingley Literature Festival on Thursday 25th; • an exhibition of art from County Longford artist Bernard Canavan in Seven Arts Centre in Chapel Allerton; • the Grove Inn Folk Club In Holbeck Urban Village on 26th March where the club introduces a number of guest musicians and singers to celebrate Irish History Month; • The eleventh Leeds St Patrick’s Day Parade will take place in Leeds City Centre on Sunday 14th March. A number of Irish cultural groups across Britain are joining forces this year to ensure that March is the month that all things Irish are celebrated throughout Britain. The Irish are right to be proud of their achievements in this country, particularly in light of the fact that in many respects, many Irish people suffered distress and isolation here. That said however, it is also the case that over the years there were very many success stories, not only in terms of economic success in for example, the construction industry, but also in every other sphere of life and in particular, the arts. To see the full range of events throughout the month in Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield & London please see www.irishhistorymonth.com. Irish History Month is supported by the Irish Arts Foundation and the Irish Government through the Emigrant Services Fund. Irish Arts Foundation, West Park Centre, Leeds LS16 5BE ; tel 0113 2755665; www.irisharts.org.uk.

FIS exists to represent and develop our members and the Irish community London Office: 95 White Lion Street London N1 9PF Tel: 020 7833 1226 Fax: 020 7833 3214 info@irishsocieties.org www.irishsocieties.org

Birmingham Office: Send FIS your news Suite 211, Keys Court If you have an event or 82-84 Moseley Street information you would like Birmingham included in the next newsletter B12 ORT or displayed on the FIS website, www. Tel: 0121 622 4169 irishsocieties.org, please email: mmccracken@ irishsocieties.org or post to the London Office. Fax: 0121 622 5613 12

JOB VACANCIES (1 of 2)

Irish Community Care Merseyside OUTREACH WORKER Full Time (35 hours per week) Salary: £18,000 – £20,000 + Benefits Centre

Based: Liverpool City

Irish Community Care Merseyside is a registered Charity and the organization of choice, providing a range of support services, advice and information for Irish and Irish Traveller communities across Merseyside. Our head office is in Liverpool City Centre and we also have outreach offices in Birkenhead and Ashton-in-Makerfield. Our Director, Breege McDaid is personally committed to developing your future career with us as our Outreach Worker, working with offenders and their families in the region. Breege will give you her full support to help develop your skills in delivering a variety of community support services to meet the needs of our Irish and Irish Traveller communities within and outside the criminal justice system. Our policy is to help our staff reach their potential. We offer you advanced training and development opportunities to build on your strengths and competencies as far as you wish to take them in this post.

In the first instance, please phone Linda Parker on 0151 650 5440. Linda works closely with Breege and she will tell you how to take your application to the next stage. Registered Charity No 701796

JOB VACANCIES (2 of 2) Irish Community Services 1-4 Beresford Square Woolwich SE18 6BB Tel: 0208 854 4466 Registered Charity No 1085033 LUNCH CLUB COOK The following experience is essential • Catering qualifications and experience • Good communications skills • Clean driving licence • This post is 30 hours per week. • The majority of hours are during TERM TIME ONLY • Salary £18,000-21,000 pa. pro rata

REMINISCENCE WORKER The following experience is desirable. • Experience working with clients with Dementia personalised • Good communications skills • Group work • Working with Volunteers • This post is for 7 hours per week • Salary £17,836pa. pro rata

If you are interested in working with Irish Community and would like an application form please telephone 020 8854 4466 between 10am-4pm Mon to Fri or email irishingre@btconnect.com for an application pack If you would like to some more information about the above positions please ask to speak to Angela or Eileen on 020 8854 4466. Closing date 19th February 2010 at 5pm The Irish in Greenwich is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all members of the community.

National Partners: Hammersmith Irish Cultural Centre, St Michaels Irish Centre, Liverpool & Sheffield Irish Association.

PRESS RELEASE -

The official UK launch of Taking the Boat: The Irish in Leeds, 1931-81, a book which examines the Irish experience in Leeds, will take place in the in the Davitt Lounge of the Leeds Irish Centre, York Road, on Saturday 6th March at 7pm.

The book was written by Brendan McGowan, a native of Killala, Co. Mayo and examines the emigrant experience through the words of thirty-three men and women who left Ireland for post-war Leeds. Brendan states that “the use of oral history has enabled and empowered these emigrants to write their history from their own perspective and in their own words”.

Brendan also highlights the special connection between Leeds and the West of Ireland: “The Leeds Irish community today numbers some 25,000 persons, the majority of whom trace their roots to the west of Ireland, and particularly to North Mayo.” His own grandparents – Martin and Ellen Ferguson – emigrated from Attymass, Co. Mayo to Leeds in the 1940s, and ran the popular Regent Hotel (now Maguires) throughout the 1970s. His paternal grandparents settled in Leeds from Co. Donegal.

Commenting on the significance of the book, Patrick O’Sullivan, Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit, writes: “The Irish of Leeds, like the Irish of New York or Boston, now have their book. Brendan McGowan has given the Irish of Leeds their place in the research record – he has made a significant contribution to the research literature of the Irish Diaspora.”

Taking the Boat is available in softback and limited edition hardback. It will be available from Leeds Irish Centre, and from all good bookstores in Leeds. It may also be acquired directly by contacting the author at takingtheboat@hotmail.com. The publication has received support in sponsorship and kind from the Heritage Council, Mayo County Council, Spear Design, Leeds Irish Health and Homes, and Irish Arts Foundation.

Tommy McLoughlin, manager of the Leeds Irish Centre, will officially launch the book, along with guest speaker Patrick O’Sullivan, Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit, University of Bradford. The launch is part of Irish Arts Foundation’s programme of events for Irish History Month 2010, and will be followed by traditional entertainment by Leeds Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann (Irish Musicians' Association).

- END -

About the Author: Brendan McGowan was raised in County Mayo. He graduated from the GalwayMayo Institute of Technology, Galway with a B.A. in Heritage Studies in 2002 and an M.A. in Humanities in 2004. This book is based on his M.A. thesis.

Since graduating as a mature student Brendan has worked in the Education and Outreach Department of the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Co. Mayo, where he also co-curated the successful Streets of London photographic exhibition. He also contributed to the publication Róisín Bán: The Irish Diaspora in Leeds (2006). Brendan currently works as Museum Mediator & Development Officer at the Galway City Museum.

For further information contact the author directly on + 353 85 8331148 or email takingtheboat@hotmail.com

Irish Mental Health Promotion Training

Are you working in the Irish community? Are you a part of the community and volunteering sector? Are you managing CVS Staff? If you answered yes then these two day courses could help you to: • raise awareness of Mental Health issues. • recognise symptoms of Mental Health. • encourage individuals to seek care. • understand some of the terms used around Mental Health. • know the policy and law surrounding Mental Health issues.

Between 09.30 and 16.30 at St. Eugene’s Court 77 Rea Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6BB Day 1 (group A) 2nd March

Day 1 (group B) 3rd March

Day 2 (group A) 23rd March

Day 2 (group B) 24th March

Please call or email to book your place Tel: 0121 622 1833 Mobile: 07500 605 788 Ravi.Ruberu@midlandheart.org.uk

Mental Health (Irish) Promotion Training Booking Form Please complete this form to confirm your interest in reserving a place/s for your staff/yourself •

I would like to book myself/my staff on this training

[Please tick]

If you are not the manager, we would request that the manager authorises this booking below. Please note that fields marked * are mandatory *Name: *Organisation Details:

........................................................................................................ Name:

………………………………………………………………

Address: ……………………………………………………………… or …………………………………………………………………………… Individual details:

………………………………….. Postcode: ………………………… Tel: ……………………………….. Fax: .......................................... Email: …………………………………………………………………..

*Managers Details:

Name:

…………………………………………………………….

Signature: ……………………………………………………………. Please note that these *FREE Training days are limited, so we advise you book them as soon as possible. *Proposed dates:

Training will be in groups over TWO DAYS in March: Please TICK preferred group : Group A (Day One – 2nd Mar 2010 and Day Two – 23rd Mar 2010) Group B (Day One – 3rd Mar 2010 and Day Two – 24th Mar 2010) The Training starts at 09.30 till about 16.30 at St Eugene’s Court, Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6BB

GOAL GOAL is an international humanitarian aid agency dedicated to the alleviation of suffering amongst the poorest of the poor. It was founded in Dublin, Ireland by former sports journalist and current Chief Executive John O’Shea in 1977. GOAL works towards ensuring that the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, or those affected by humanitarian crises, have access to the fundamental needs and rights of life including, but not limited to, food, water, shelter, medical attention and education. It is nondenominational, non-governmental and non-political. GOAL has responded to almost every major natural and man-made disaster and catastrophe in the past 33 years and is currently operational in 11 countries in the Developing World. GOAL’s priority is to bring life-saving assistance to people affected by emergencies by providing food, healthcare and other basic requirements. Once emergency situations have been resolved, GOAL implements rehabilitation programmes which include the repair of homes, clinics, schools and the provision of water and sanitation facilities. Long-term development programmes are also implemented in the areas of health, nutrition, education and the capacity building of indigenous humanitarian organisations. Since its inception, GOAL has sent in excess of 1,500 volunteers (GOALies) to work in the Developing World, alongside many thousands of local staff. It has spent in excess of £550 million on the delivery of aid to the poor in over 50 countries and it has managed this on a low administration budget. GOAL in Haiti GOAL had a presence on the ground in Haiti within 26 hours of the earthquake. In the intervening period we have increased our team of GOALies to 34, with others on the way. These will, in the main, include logistics and medical staff. The core of the GOAL emergency response team has vast experience of disaster situations from working in the aftermath of the earthquake in Pakistan, the tsunami in south-east Asia and in Darfur. GOAL has also been chosen by the Word Food Programme (United Nations) and USAID (US Government) to distribute substantial quantities of food and non-food items to a substantial number of the 1.5 million vulnerable inhabitants of Port-au-Prince. These supplies include

food and water, and non-food items - such as blankets, sleeping mats, cooking equipment and hygiene sets. For donations to help GOAL's Haiti response, please see contact details below Some things you may not have known about GOAL GOAL has a proud record of keeping administration costs to an absolute minimum. One of the ways they achieve this is through the secondment of staff from companies in the corporate sector. GOAL is able to leverage governmental funds. All donations supply the seed capital that allows GOAL to access much larger sums. With every one pound donation GOAL can raise a potential nine pounds in additional funds. GOAL has recognised expertise. For instance, GOAL was one of three organisations invited to the White House to personally inform President George W. Bush on the state of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake disaster and the progress made. GOAL Save Lives and enjoys a reputation as an entrepreneurial ‘no frills’ agency that gets the job done as quickly as possible thanks to a practical can do attitude. GOAL works to lessen the effects of the gap that continues to increase between the Developed and Developing World. The organisation is a palliative to the disease, hunger, and war that claims a child every seven seconds because of contaminated drinking water. GOAL Events in UK Throughout the year, GOAL hopes to hold various fundraising events in the UK, including its spectacular GOAL Ball in London at the end of June. For information about the Ball, or our other events including GOAL Jersey Day, GOAL Miles and our Schools Development Education section – or even how you can help, please contact GOAL at: GOAL, 7A Hanson Street, London W1W 6TE; Telephone +44 (0)20 7631 3196, Fax +44 (0)20 7631 3197, email info@goal-uk.org or visit www.goal-uk.org

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Federation of Irish Societies for giving GOAL column space in their newsletter.

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