St Patrick’s Day and Northern Irish Affairs

Debate between Adam Jogee and Andy Slaughter

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Adam Jogee]

I thank my neighbour, in whose constituency my mother was born, for her timely and important intervention. I could not agree more.

Many people from the island of Ireland moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme, to Staffordshire, as my hon. Friend said, and to coalfield communities up and down our country to work in our mines and in our metal manufacturing industries, settling with their families and bringing with them a sense of culture, new ideas and, of course, great craic. But many Irish women came to England in particular to work in our national health service. I want to acknowledge Louise Ryan, who, alongside Gráinne McPolin and Neha Doshi, has written a wonderful book entitled “Irish Nurses in the NHS”, which I read over the weekend, and which gives such voice to the contribution of Irish nurses in our beloved national health service.

Many businesses and organisations in my constituency would not exist without people from the island of Ireland, and many of my constituents—some of my staff included—are proud to have strong Irish roots. I think of people like Rosi Monkman, who works at Keele University and lives in the Westlands, and my Labour predecessor, the former Member of Parliament, Paul Farrelly. I was out door-knocking in Clayton the other day when in quick succession I met Shannon, Maura, and then, of course, the wonderful Bob Bell and many more. I think of the Irish staff in this House, from Catherine Jackson, the restaurant manager, to the lovely Betty Thompson in the Terrace cafeteria downstairs: strong Irish women keeping this place going.

Irish Heritage described the contribution of the Irish to cultural life in the United Kingdom as incalculable. The cultural contribution of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is beyond doubt.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the unique contribution that the Irish diaspora has made to cultural life in the UK. For 30 years, the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith has served the population of west London and far beyond. Under its current team of centre director William Foote, culture director Ros Scanlon and chairman Peter Power-Hynes, it has gone from strength to strength in its cultural, community and education programmes. I count myself lucky as a Member with one of the largest Irish populations to represent such an outstanding venue for the best of Irish culture. My hon. Friend and, of course, all hon. Members are welcome there at all times.

[Adam Jogee]

I have been to Hammersmith’s Irish Cultural Centre many times. My hon. Friend speaks rightly of the contribution that it makes to people of Irish descent not just in London but up and down the country. There are also Irish centres in Birmingham, Manchester and other parts of the United Kingdom. He makes a good point, and I congratulate all those at that centre on the work they do.

In Northern Ireland we have great wordsmiths such as the poet Seamus Heaney, the playwright Brian Friel, and Anna Burns, the author of “Milkman”. All of them have achieved international acclaim in both the English and Irish languages. We also have musicians such as Van Morrison—although he was a little bit mean to my friend the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann), who has the pleasure of representing the community that my wife was born in and where my parents-in-law live—and, notably, the Ulster-Scots folk music movement, who have had real popularity right across the United Kingdom and indeed the world. Of course, much-loved TV shows such as Channel 4’s “Derry Girls” and even “Game of Thrones” owe Northern Ireland a great deal. Anyone who has been to Northern Ireland will have seen its natural beauty up close. It is the home of the Giant’s Causeway, the Ring of Gullion, Slieve Donard, which towers over Newcastle, County Down—an act of solidarity with God’s own constituency of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

I must also mention the island of Ireland’s contribution to one of our most beloved institutions: the great British pub. From Ballycastle to Bletchley, Coalisland to Camden, Fermanagh to Falkirk, Portballintrae in the constituency of the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) to Pembrokeshire, Templepatrick to Tyneside, Ballybeen to Golders Green and everywhere in between, who does not like a good pint? Whether it be a pint of Guinness, Guinness 0.0 or Guinness Clear—otherwise known as water—the approach and culture have deeply influenced our pubs, and we are all the better for it. Pubs across Newcastle-under-Lyme, whether it is the Westbury Tavern in Westbury Park, the Potters Wheel just up from Bradwell Lodge, the Sneyd Arms in town where I was last Saturday having a cold drink or the Hand and Trumpet in Wrinehill, pubs across my part of the world, as I know in many others, know how to pour a good pint of Guinness.

It was in Belfast shipyard and particularly at Harland & Wolff where many vessels for the Royal Navy and the merchant fleet were built, including the famous HMS Belfast. In both world wars, Irish volunteers fought in the British Army, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. Men and women from across the island of Ireland helped build the earliest tunnels for the London underground, as well as more modern works, such as the Victoria line, which gets me from Euston station on a Monday morning to this place. Many Irish people continue to move to our United Kingdom to work in our national health service, education system and, more widely, our public services. I take this moment to pay tribute to them for their hard work and their contributions to our country. Does my hon. Friend want to give way?