Project Team
Project Manager: Dr Susan Cahill
Heritage Researcher: Dr Rosa Gilbert
Heritage Assistant: Róisín Jones
Web Design and Development: Thought Collective
Exhibition Design: Easy Tiger Creative
Sound and Video Design: Chris Russell
The title of the exhibition was taken from the dedication of Frank O’Connor’s The Backward Look, Macmillan, 1967.
To our dedicated volunteer oral historians, your passion and commitment to preserving these stories have been invaluable. To all those who bravely shared their personal experiences, thank you for entrusting us with your memories.
To Irish in Britain’s member organisations, both past and present, for their unwavering support and collaboration.
To our dedicated equipment hubs: London Irish Centre, Leeds Irish Health and Homes, Irish Community Care Manchester, Irish Community Care Liverpool, Luton Irish Forum, Milton Keynes Irish Centre and Birmingham Irish Association.
To our Advisory Committee: Emma Smith, Patrick Murphy, Kathleen Sheridan, Martina Wintour, Breege McDaid, Christy Evans, Elleesa Rushby, Eamonn Delaney, Maev McDaid, Dr Ann Potter, Professor Louise Ryan, Frances Ewings, Míchael Gorman, Aisling McDowell, and Anthony Hanlon.
To our Ethics Committee: Dr Ann Potter, Elleesa Rushby and Dr Zibiah Loakthar. The staff of Special Collections at London Metropolitan University, especially Peter Fisher and David Baldwin, your assistance in preserving this history is deeply appreciated.
To Dr Tony Murray and Cathy Phillpotts of London Metropolitan University for their support and advice on this project from its beginnings.
To Christina Lake and Carlotta England for their support with project specifications.
A special thanks to Sarah Lowry from the Oral History Society for her exceptional training and guidance. And to Charlie Morgan, Rob Perks, and Rib Davis of the Oral History Society for all their advice and support.
To Dr Fearghus Roulston and the Scottish Oral History Centre for their help and support in training volunteers.
To Maureen Slattery-Marsh for the invaluable trauma-informed interview training and Catherine Hennessy of icap, ensuring the wellbeing of all involved.
To Jim McCool, supported by Alex McDonnell, for allowing us to use Arlington House transcripts and to the actors for bringing them to life, Ardal O’Hanlon, Adrian Dunbar, and Jamie Beamish.
To poet Laurie Bolger for capturing and condensing so beautifully the essence of this project in her poem ‘Home’.
To everyone involved in the visual impact of the exhibition, especially to the team of Easy Tiger Creative for their creativity, expertise, and empathy for the project. Thanks to Becky Moriarty for her beautiful banner illustrations.
Special thanks go to photographers Joanne O’Brien and Sass Tuffin who provided key images for the exhibition. Thanks also to all the interviewees who provided personal photographs. Thanks to RTÉ Archives, BBC NI, Loopline Films, The Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, Dyehouse Films, the Irish Architecture Foundation, and Tom Monaghan for providing archival footage.
To Thought Collective for producing the online exhibition.
To the staff in all our venues for making this exhibition so successful: The Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, The Florrie in Liverpool, Slung Low in Leeds and ThinkTank in Birmingham.
To all the staff in the Irish Embassy for all your support.
Thank you to Sarah Joyce and Áine Ratcliffe nee Joyce and Dr Máirtín Coilfeir for your help with Irish translations.
To the entire team at Irish in Britain, your hard work and dedication have been the driving force behind this project.
To all the sponsors and supporters of the project.
To all our friends and families, and to everyone else who contributed in countless ways, your collective efforts have made this project a reality. Thank you for preserving the rich history of the Irish in Britain.
If you have any feedback regarding the exhibition or its content, please don’t hesitate to contact Susan Cahill at scahill@irishinbritain.org, and we’ll do our best to address your inquiries.
This project was made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.