Manchester City Archives
The Irish constitute the largest and oldest ethnic
minority in Manchester. Traditional music establishes
and links those who came before in a continuing
cultural journey where second generation musicians
still play, with great skill, the music of their forebears.
For over 10 years (1992-2002) musician and voluntary
organiser Lynne Percival promoted young Irish musicians
under the Club Cheoil banner by hosting regular
concerts and events in Manchester pubs and venues.
These featured international artists like Martin Hayes,
Dervish, Mary Bergin, Kevin Burke, Ronan Browne, Four
Men and a Dog and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill. Over time
Club Cheoil, and its group of amateur enthusiasts,
played their part in encouraging wider popularity
of Irish Music in Manchester. This is the story...
As Lynne explains... ‘Musicians played regularly for
30 years at the Jolly Angler pub, now sadly under the
developers axe, and several other pubs like the Ducie
and the Albert in Rusholme, but finding a regular city
centre venue for concerts was a challenge. Luckily,
for 5 years, we had the support of David Perkins at the
Frog and Bucket pub on Newton Street (latterly Tommy
Ducks) which preceded the comedy club of the same
name in a different city centre venue. We held a regular
session there on Thursdays until it closed in 1998. It
was a lovely intimate setting for concerts, reproducing
the ‘front room’ atmosphere, where it almost felt as if
you were on stage with the artists. We had some great
nights there with musical luminaries including Martin
Hayes and Dennis Cahill, John Carty and Brian McGrath,
Laoise Kelly, and Altan players to name but a few -
always supported by a group of local young musicians
who were encouraged to play on the same bill’.
An annual ‘Club Cheoil On Tour’ festival took
Irish music on a session trail to new audiences in
different city pubs. Exchanges were encouraged
with young musicians from Dublin and Cork e.g.
Carol Leader, Aogan Lynch and Gavin Ralston.
A small Heritage Lottery Fund was obtained to record
an Archive CD In Safe Hands in a professional studio
in 1997. This captured the spirit of Manchester’s young
Irish musicians and a CD was placed in every County
Library in Ireland. 40 young players then took part in a
concert for the BBC’s Music Live 1997 celebration, hosted
by the inimitable Mike Harding, which helped generate
positive energy in Manchester after the bomb in 1996.
In total over 65 concerts were organised and through
collaboration with other city festivals, Irish music was
introduced to new places such as the Bridgewater
Hall and the Royal Exchange Theatre. Lynne says ‘The
image of Johnny O’Leary and Brendan Begley playing
in the foyer of the Royal Exchange will stay with me
for a long time. The busy shoppers stopped to listen in
wonderment at the music - and songs sung in Irish’.
Significantly, the goal of establishing a bespoke
Annual Irish Music Festival in Manchester was
achieved - and is flourishing. At the beginning of
the new century, things began to change. Club
Cheoil was at pains to find affordable venues.
Lynne says ‘We held several successful concerts at
MANCAT - a college hall in the city centre - including the
launch of the Archive with the Irish Ambassador, but we
had to work hard to persuade the unenthusiastic College
management. There was no licence to serve alcohol.
We had to work out a raffle ticket system to exchange
for drinks - it was very expensive to ‘buy in a bar’ - but
despite successful numbers of punters, up to 200 for the
Celtic Fiddles concert, the college management lacked
the spirit of co-operation and the venue was withdrawn.
Seemingly the hand of community outreach didn’t
actually reach out far enough to encompass live music!’
Arts funding was directed elsewhere for the
Commonwealth Games. Increased commercialisation
and regulation meant venues started to demand
musicians ‘pay to play’, as did a number of pubs, which
hitherto had encouraged live music. Some venues
closed and others over-charged for use or insisted on
‘two in a bar’ rule, limiting the number of performers.
The idea of an Archive was supported by Nicolas
Carolan (from the Irish Music Archive in Dublin) and
Manchester Central Reference Library. Archives
are set up to increase our sense of identity and
understanding of cultures. They tell stories. This
collection is far more than a set of recordings,
photographs, videos, interviews and newspaper
cuttings: it opens up access to a particular Mancunian
perspective, cataloguing a significant developmental
phase - the journey of young second generation
musicians keen to absorb and continue the culture
that their immigrant parents had brought with them.
An Oral History Project was initiated and volunteers
interviewed and recorded the stories of older musicians
and family. Recently the singer Ríoghnach Connolly, while
researching the sound archives as part of her commission
for the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage Project, found and
listened to her grandmother’s oral history interview in
the Club Cheoil collection. Ríoghnach commented: “I was
in a bit of a daze yesterday...it was quite an emotional
one! I’m relishing the chance to stay involved with the
archives in any way. Thanks again for your time, and
helping me hear my great grandmother’s voice again!”
Lynne goes on to say ‘The 1990’s was a VERY special
time for the music. It was a privilege to work alongside so
many talented young players, including Mike McGoldrick
and Angela Usher MBE, Manchester’s great musical
ambassadors. We were fortunate to recognise the
importance of archiving for future generations and are
now working on the technology and copyright issues
which we hope will enable us to share it more widely.
The pub sessions are still alive and well and the great
joy of music is ever sustainable - for those remaining
in Manchester - and for those who have scattered’.
Lynne Percival, 2025