Coventry Irish Society’s 5th Annual Ball
October 31, 2024
Thank you to everyone who made our 5th Annual Ball a huge success. It was a wonderful night for our community to celebrate our culture and heritage.
Fantastic entertainment for the evening was provided by the very talented, Maggie Gallagher and Celtica Academy. The legendary Christy Pepper kept the dancefloor packed all night with a live performance of favourite tunes.
We were delighted to be joined by a senior delegation from Cork City Council; Cllr. Honore Kamegni (Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork), Viviane Kamegni, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy (Former Lord Mayor of Cork 2023/2024), and Ciarán Kelleher Byrne (International Relations Officer at Cork City Council).
The occasion was the perfect opportunity to present our long-serving volunteers with awards for long-standing service and dedication to their community; Ann Sullivan, Tommy Cleary, and Margaret Campbell. Certificates of Achievement were also presented to two excellent work-experience students; Daithí Houston and Gerard Gallagher.
A very special tribute was paid to our very own Kate McCarthy, Trustee of the Coventry Irish Society, who has dedicated over 20 years’ voluntary service to the charity, including successfully steering the charity through some extremely challenging and turbulent times. In a very moving speech, Kate, paid tribute to her own mother, and the values she taught her, in particular to look out for others.
The highlight of the evening was a formal presentation of the prestigious Cork City Gift by the Deputy Lord Mayor to our own Kay Forrest for a lifetime of service to the Irish community in Coventry. Special recognition was given to Kay for her long-term service to the Charity and for her ongoing commitment and herculean work over the past 31 years.
We, at the Coventry Irish Society, would like to give special thanks to all of our supporters, especially Care Associates who were the main sponsor of the event for the second year running. As a charity, we are very much dependent on the financial support that we get from our local businesses – your support is never taken for granted and very much keeps us going. Thank you!
We would also like to thank the staff at Christ The King Social Club who worked tirelessly throughout the evening to provide excellent hospitality to a full capacity room.
We also appreciated the opportunity, before the Ball, to host the Deputy Lord Mayor and his team at our offices where they enjoyed meeting the Irish in Coventry and seeing first-hand all the vital work that goes on to support our community. Coventry was the first city in the world to be twinned with another city and is currently twinned with 26 other cities across the world, including Cork. We value and cherish the friendship we have with Cork and look forward to continuing to work together.
View some of our favourite highlights from the night in this short video.
In honour of Mo Mowlam, we are creating a collage called In Her Footsteps . This collage of pictures of ordinary, everyday women in our community will pay tribute to the unsung heroes, past and present, who have shaped our values and made the world we live in a better place, such as our nurses, Irish mammies, nannies, and any woman who we find inspirational. The collage will be on display at the Coventry Irish Society and will be unveiled at the Equal-i-tea on 19 August 2025 . If you would like to contribute to the collage, then please could you send us a photograph together with the name of your nominated person and a short sentence or two on who they are and why they inspire you. This will be quite a big project and therefore we will not be able to return photographs. We would also ask that written consent is obtained from any living person to be featured in the collage. Contributions can be handed to a member of staff in the office or emailed to: cis@covirishsoc.org.uk up and until 23 July 2025.
Mo Mowlam was a real changemaker; her courage and humanity played a vital role in bringing about The Good Friday Agreement / Belfast Agreement. Mo was an extraordinary, inspirational woman, and we’re very proud of her Coventry roots. We invite you to join us at our cross-community Equal-i-tea on Tuesday 19 August 2025 to celebrate Mo’s life and values on the 20th anniversary of her passing. Join us for a cross-community afternoon tea & an opportunity to learn more about Mo and her values as a peace builder. We will also unveil our community collage; In Her Footsteps – A tribute to the everyday women in our community who have shaped our values and made the world a better place. Time: 12.00 – 3.00 pm Venue: The Coventry Irish Society, 2nd Floor, Eaton House, Eaton Road, Coventry CV1 2FJ Admission: £10 per person (which covers entry and an afternoon tea with sandwiches and cake). Advanced booking is essential for this ticket-only event. Tickets can be obtained by seeing a member of staff in the office, or by emailing: cis@covirishsoc.org.uk or by telephoning us on 024 7625 6629.
We are hiring for an Early Stage Memory Loss Support Worker This post contract is initially for 1 year - role extension TBC additional funding. Salary: £10,000 P.A (£25,000 pro rata), 15 hours per week. Role pattern is 10am-4pm, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (excluding lunch). About us: Established in 1993, Coventry Irish Society (CIS) is a Charity providing a wide range of community health and support services to the Irish Community in Coventry. The Coventry Irish Society requires an Early Stage Memory Loss Support Worker to facilitate a 1 half day per week Memory Loss Support Group and a half-day per week Walking Group for the local Irish Community. The role includes working with Carers and increasing mental health awareness to support the local Irish Community. The charity predominantly supports Irish Elders, but also supports Second and Third generation Irish, Irish Survivors and Irish Travellers. To apply for this role, please email your CV with cover letter detailing your experience and skills in line with role requirements and any additional information you think may be relevant. Download and view full job role description below.
