Institute of Irish Studies

15/06/2026

🎪Community Cohesion Under the Big Top🎪
Our Dr Lybeck has written about her research into using (circus) performance as part of regenerative cultural activities and of her personal experience of doing so as part of Southport's Big Top Festival.
Read her blog at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/irish-studies/blog/2026/underthebigtop/
Want to experience it for yourself and have the chance to contribute?
Join Dr Lybeck and Lecoq-trained clown Seamus Lavan for 🎭Best Practice🎭 a comical and critical performance on failure, regeneration, and civic life in Southport
🗓️6:30pm, 19 June
🧭Wayfarers Arcade, Southport
FREE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/best-practice-a-new-theatre-work-at-the-engine-room-tickets-1987129701429

A comical and critical performance on failure, regeneration, and civic life in Southport

11/06/2026

If you missed the previous workshop, Nollaig Molloy is putting on another one!
Personal Archives, Objects and Irishness
FREE workshop exploring Irish identity through personal objects and archives. Participants are invited to bring an item that connects to their experiences of Ireland, migration, family or belonging, using it as a starting point for discussion, storytelling and reflection.
Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
📆2pm, Saturday 27 June
🧭Liverpool Irish Centre
Book via link below or just pop in.
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/personal-archives-objects-and-irishness-tickets-1990967543518

You are invited to a conversation-based workshop exploring Irish identity in the UK, migration, adaptation and belonging.

09/06/2026

Just a quick reminder that the second film screening as part of the Liverpool European Festival this June is on Thursday
Organised by students of the University of Liverpool European Affairs Society in partnership with the Liverpool European Partnership, Young European Movement and us.

📽️Sentimental Value
Scandinavian film from 2025 about two daughters and their estranged father.
6pm, 11 June
Central Teaching Hub, University of Liverpool
FREE but registration requested:

Screening and panel discussion of this 2025 film from Scandinavia about two daughers and their estranged father.

08/06/2026

Congratulations to our PhD student Tabitha Rowland who has been on LCR Liverpool Community Radio-The New Voice of the City for a discussion about some of the overlooked women in Liverpool's history.
Learn more about painter Isabelle de Steiger, social activist and feminist Josephine Butler and poet Felicia Hemans:

Sign up to keep listening, access your Library to pick up episodes right where you left off, and connect with your favorite creators. Experience the ultimate podcast listening on Spreaker!

08/06/2026

"Northern Ireland public opinion survey shows majority wish to remain in UK"

The latest Institute of Irish Studies Northern Ireland Survey under the lead of our director, Prof Peter Shirlow, has been published in the Sunday Times over the weekend. Based on a sample of 1,534 electors aged 18 and over, the survey shows no movement towards constitutional change, with a majority wishing to remain in the UK.

The survey also addresses topics including public support for reforming Stormont and inter-community relations. "Nearly 30 years post Good Friday Agreement we have a society that is turning to non-constitutional issues and one in which most people have constructive relationships across the divide" - Prof Shirlow

Read more via University of Liverpool News: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2026/06/08/northern-ireland-public-opinion-survey-shows-majority-wish-to-remain-in-uk

Full report via https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/irish-studies/research/research-projects/northern-ireland-surveys

30/05/2026

//Call for Participants // Oral history project //
"Men We Seldom See - Irish Migrant Legacies and the British Construction Industry"
Our Dr Barry Hazley and Dr Eleanor Lybeck are inviting people to be interviewed for their oral history study "Men We Seldom See - Irish Migrant Legacies and the British Construction Industry". Supported by The Ireland Funds, the study investigates the neglected social history of Irish migrant workers in the British construction industry between 1945-99.
If you (or anyone you know) migrated from Ireland to England at any point after 1945 and worked in any aspect of the British construction industry (site and office) for at least one year, and are willing to be interviewed for this project or if you have any further questions you might have about the nature of the project, please go to the website https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/irish-studies/research/research-projects/irish-migrant-legacies/ .

Research project at the Institute of Irish Studies looking at Irish Migrant Legacies and the British Construction Industry

28/05/2026

Delighted to join with our friends The Irish Cultural Centre for an evening celebrating the Irish Language:

The Irish Language in London/An Ghaeilge i Londain brings together world-leading experts from universities in the US, UK and Ireland to discuss the story of the Irish language in London. The panel will discuss the history of Irish in London from time immemorial to the present day.

Join us at ICC Hammersmith on Friday 3 July.
FREE or £4 with Welcome Drink:

Here at the Irish Cultural Centre, we invite you to check out The Irish Language in London/An Ghaeilge i Londain. Book your tickets today!

28/05/2026

Great idea by Liverpool Irish Rovers for those wanting to keep body and mind active (and temperatures should be cooler by this evening).😎

Liverpool Irish Rovers Thursday Social.28.5.26

We are mixing a bit of verse with our stride tonight (National.Poetry Day in Ireland and when Thomas Moore was born). We promise no long sonnets while tackling hills, but we might just have a quick rhyme waiting at the regroup spots! Walkers and runners are all welcome as always.

📍 Meet: Liverpool Irish Centre (LIC)
⏰ Time: 6:15pm meet for a 6:30pm start
🗺️ Distance: Social 5K (Run or Walk—zero pressure!)
🟢 Gear: Wear your green if you fancy!



Liverpool Irish Centre
fans
Liverpool Irish Festival
Institute of Irish Studies

28/05/2026

🎭BEST PRACTICE🎭

Premiere of a new theatre work by our Dr Lybeck, telling the story of efforts to revive Southport's Wayfarers Arcade.
Originally subtitled ‘A Pantomime for Policymakers’, Best Practice is really a show for anyone who’s ever tried – and quite possibly failed – to make something work. It tells the story of efforts to revive the Wayfarers Arcade, one of the gems of Southport’s Lord Street, and asks the audience to design through serious play a blueprint for the town’s future.

Performed by Seamus Lavan (Lecoq-trained clown) with a company of local young people.

🗓️6:30pm, 19 June

🧭The Engine Room, Wayfarers Arcade, Southport

FREE:

A comical and critical performance on failure, regeneration, and civic life in Southport