New era as Irish Centre opens at new site

The new centre is located at the former West Midlands Travel Social Club on Wheelers Lane

A city's Irish community is looking to the future as it opens a centre in a new location five years after a longstanding venue shut.

Birmingham Irish Centre is now based in Kings Heath, where a huge new site includes a bar, hotel, sports facilities, dance studio and shop.

The previous site in Digbeth, known as the city's Irish Quarter, closed down in 2020 after half a century.

Caroline Owens, who managed the original site, said it was time to create new memories and put the place back on the map. "It's a new era, new building, new place," she said.

The new centre is located at the former West Midlands Travel Social Club on Wheelers Lane.

Manager Craig Bourne said: "There will be live music here Fridays and Saturday evenings… and mainly hopefully they will all be local Irish bands to Kings Heath and Birmingham."

Pat Owens, who started the first Irish centre, was pictured with the first Guinness pulled

A shop on site called Fitzgerald's will sell Irish staples such as Tayto crisps, mallow biscuits and Barry's Tea.

It will also stock a wide range of other items such as Gaelic Athletic Association merchandise, Irish dancing dresses and shoes and christening gowns.

The site features Gaelic sports pitches and changing rooms, among other facilities

Other facilities include a "state-of-the art" boxing gym, a 4G pitch and sports changing rooms.

CEO of the Birmingham Irish Association, Maurice Malone, said Gaelic sports were "massive" in the Midlands.

"It will be great for people to come up and visit the site," he added.

The site includes a hotel, bar, dance studio and shop

Photographs on the walls of the new bar give a nod back to the years at the Digbeth site, which first opened in 1957.

It was started by Ms Owen's father Pat, who moved to Birmingham from County Galway as a 16-year-old.

Ms Owens remembered: "We had everything from Hothouse Flowers to Brendan Shine - all the big bands.

"All the memories, but now it's time to create new ones."

Mr Malone said it had been a dilemma whether or not to leave Digbeth and they would miss it, but the new building offered "so much opportunity".

"It was a bit of a heart-wrench to leave Digbeth, but we just had to move on," he added.