St Patrick’s Day and Northern Irish Affairs

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) on securing this important debate. This is, if I may say so to newer colleagues, always a good debate: I enjoyed last year’s debate celebrating St Patrick’s day and our wider Irish diaspora.

As the Member of Parliament for Luton South and South Bedfordshire, I am always pleased to recognise and celebrate the strong and proud Irish community in my constituency. Luton is a diverse and vibrant town made up of individuals with global ties, and the Irish connection that many hold is an intrinsic part of that social fabric.

From supporting the economic growth of our town by working in Luton’s manufacturing industry, and by building homes, churches and schools, to their contribution to arts and culture, the Irish diaspora in Luton have contributed an immense amount and continue to do so. The post-world war two boom created a huge period of regeneration and building in the UK. Irish immigrants came in their thousands to work on motorway construction and in manufacturing jobs. Luton was no exception, and from 1951 to 1961, our Irish population more than tripled from 2,000 to over 7,000. That was primarily due to increased economic opportunity in the town, with Vauxhall Motors expanding in the 1950s and creating thousands more jobs.

At one stage, Vauxhall Motors became the single largest employer in the town, employing 22,000 people across Luton and Dunstable by the 1960s. I thank all the workers at Vauxhall in Luton; the final vehicles come off the production line this week, due to the sad closure of the plant. There were further job opportunities across Luton at Electrolux, manufacturing household appliances, and at Skefko, a ball-bearing manufacturer. Our Irish population is a core part of our workforce and plays a key role in workplace unions. I pay tribute to the local trade union representatives of Irish descent in my constituency, who continue to advocate for fair pay and working conditions.

There were also significant employment opportunities for Irish women. With the creation of the NHS in 1948, many Irish women came to Luton to work at the Luton and Dunstable hospital, fulfilling the need for more nurses as Luton’s population grew. Indeed, the recently released Irish Times bestseller “Irish Nurses in the NHS: an oral history” features the stories of three women from our local Irish community: Betty Halfpenny and Roseanna Anderson, who came to the UK to be nurses, and Rosaleen Burke, a radiographer who worked at the L&D hospital for over 50 years. I was pleased to attend the book launch at the Irish embassy in London in February, and to celebrate the contribution those women made to our town, and to the healthcare system more widely.

As the Luton Irish community grew, so did its lasting mark on our town’s landscape, social scene and culture. In my constituency, the building of the Holy Ghost, St Margaret and Sacred Heart churches, to name just some of the Catholic churches in our town, highlighted the Irish community’s desire to contribute something lasting to Luton. That was followed by the building of the associated schools, which provided education for pupils aged 5 to 18. They included Cardinal Newman high school, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), which opened in 1968 and prides itself on being

“a school of the community built by the community.”

Today, these churches, schools and social spaces continue to be hubs at the heart of the community for the Luton Irish.

When it comes to the influence of Irish organisations, I cannot forget the vital role played by the Luton Irish Forum, a charity promoting Irish identity, culture and heritage. It also provides a range of support and wellbeing services to improve the quality of life for the Irish community and the wider population of Luton. That includes welfare support, debt advice and housing. It also holds mother and toddler groups, tea and chat sessions, arts and games clubs, and Irish dance and music clubs.

The Luton Irish Forum also recognises the economic contribution of our Irish community. In November, it held its first successful Irish business brunch, bringing together current and long-standing Irish businesses, supporters and other local connections to highlight the opportunities for business within the forum and its extended network. As our Labour Government focus on our mission for growth, such networks play a vital role locally, and I look forward to seeing our Luton economy thrive in years to come.

Of course, the Luton Irish Forum plays a key role in Luton’s annual St Patrick’s day festival, which is hugely impressive, if I do say so myself. I was delighted to join in the 26th annual celebration earlier this month, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was an amazing parade, with flags from every county of the emerald isle proudly on display. In true Luton style, the parade was led by a mash-up of Bhangra drums and Irish music and dancing. It was a beautiful representation of everything that Luton is about, and a coming together in celebration of all cultures.

Of course, we cannot forget St Brigid, the female patron saint of Ireland. In Luton, we celebrate her annually too: the Luton Irish Forum holds an afternoon tea and celebrates the Irish women in our community. This year, the theme was Irish wedding traditions, including the role of matchmaker, the Claddagh ring, and the bride’s handkerchief being kept for her first child’s christening bonnet.

I will end as I began, by thanking our Irish community in Luton for their enormous contribution to the local economy and their important work to enrich our community and ensure that the Irish connection in Luton remains strong from generation to generation. The connections between Luton and the island of Ireland continue. In the past, the main transport link may well have been the ferry, but nowadays London Luton airport enables that enduring connection to remain strong. It ties our first, second, third and even fourth generation of Irish Lutonians back to Dublin, Cork, Knock, Kerry and Belfast, to name just a few places, and allows family ties and cultural influences to transcend distance. Our town is all the better for it.