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 developer’s 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 — for example, 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. Forty 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 had previously encouraged live music. Some venues closed and others overcharged for use or insisted on the ‘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 1990s 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