Arts event celebrates town's 'rich Irish heritage'

An artist whose home town has a strong Irish heritage invited people to celebrate its culture and memories.

Hayley Bromell grew up in Luton and has been "squirrelling away for six months" to put a project together that culminates on Saturday night.

"I interviewed members of the Irish community and ran creative workshops with the participants," she said.

Their works will be displayed at a "memorable evening" along with poetry readings and traditional Irish music.

A previous event showcased Luton's link to the Irish community

Ms Bromell said the "large Irish community" stemmed from immigration to Luton during the 20th Century.

"A lot of it has to do with people coming over from Ireland to London, for example to Cricklewood and Hendon, then moving up to Luton which is not far from North London," she explained.

"But also the industry here: manufacturers, Vauxhall, it's a big factory town."

After receiving a commission from charity Revoluton Arts, Ms Bromell set about creating the project and participants made art and wrote poetry about their experiences.

Hayley's workshops encouraged members of the Irish community to produce art and poetry

"With all of that I produced a zine (a small book) which showcases their everyday experiences, and the places and spaces that are important to them," she added.

"It's been amazing how open people have been to share their stories. It's easy to think your story doesn't matter or you just carry on day to day with life without stopping to reflect on the experiences that you've had.

"It's been a really lovely opportunity for people to reflect on those times and have them written down is really special too. It's going to be a really special night."

The free event takes place at The Pavilion from 19:00 GMT on Saturday.