London Irish Centre Annual Report 2015 - 2016

LONDON IRISH CENTRE CHARITY 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB T: 020 7916 2222 info@londonirishcentre.org @LDNIrishCentre

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www.londonirishcentre.org London Irish Centre Charity is both a Registered Charity No: 1149787 and an Irish Community Centre.

LONDON IRISH CENTRE CHARITY Annual Review 2015 - 2016

WELCOME CARE

CULTURE

Welcome to the London Irish Centre Charity Annual Review. This report will provide you with a brief review of the vast range of projects, activities and events that have taken place over the past 18 months.

In Culture, we manage London’s leading Irish cultural programme, welcoming over 20,000 people every year. We offer space and assistance to over 400 Irish community events, and provide support and advice to a mix of Irish artists and cultural organisations; this support was valued at close to £200,000.

Our new Irish Library holds over 6,000 books and our educational programme is high quality and fast-growing.

Working in three key areas of Care, Culture and Community we continue to serve the Irish in London 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year.

“The people are very good here, very welcoming. It’s good to know there is someone there who will call me up if one day I don’t make it in, that’s important when you’re old.”

Mary, LICC Day Centre Client

COMMUNITY

Care is the core of our work and we support the most vulnerable – with advice services and crisis assistance, dedicated outreach, advocates and case workers for older Irish, day services with nutritious meals, accessible social groups and activities to combat loneliness. We also provide small crisis grants, family tracing and assistance with returning to Ireland.

The Community will always be at the heart of the charity. The Irish in London are diverse and spread across the city. We offer a warm and welcoming connection to a vibrant and supportive Irish community.

Through our online networks, our events programme, volunteering and befriending opportunities and of course our historic and iconic Camden community centre, all are welcome to participate.

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A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR

I

t is a great honour to be CEO of the London Irish Centre Charity, for over 60 years the charity has been serving the Irish in London and today continues in our mission to be the heart of the Irish in London.

Due to a change in our accounting end of year this report covers an 18 month period from April 2015 to September 2016.

The London Irish Centre is becoming an increasingly important charity hub - 7 different organisations now work from the centre employing over 60 members of staff. There is a great energy and buzz around the centre and we will continue to invest to maintain and upgrade facilities, alongside our partners Off to Work /Sliced Events.

I hope you will find this report interesting and see the real difference the charity makes to the Irish in London: to those in need of advice, support and care or to those who want to enjoy culture, arts, events and education programmes.

Our relationship with Off to Work continues to deepen and we plan to collaborate more closely on partnership events as well as operationally in the coming years. Off to Work is the 2nd largest contributor to our charitable income and generously make a financial donation to our Annual Fundraiser.

We have continued to invest in the centre - much of the front façade was repaired extensively and decorated in 2016 and behind the scenes there have been upgrades in many areas.

Working from our offices in Camden, Kilburn and West Kensington we deliver 9 projects in line with our charitable objectives and through these projects, services, programmes, events, support and subsidies, the charity creates tremendous value for our community.

In June 2016, I attended the first Civic Forum, held in Dublin Castle. The event demonstrated how wide and deep the Irish Diaspora is with traditional emigrant destinations like Australia and Canada represented as well as newer countries such as Japan and Holland. This was a wonderful event with representation from Irish community organisations around the world, and an excellent opportunity to network and share experiences.

The charity sector continues to experience serious challenges, statutory funding has been cut dramatically while legislation changes mean that there is an increasing need for service provision. We have managed to reduce our deficit substantially excluding depreciation, our deficit was £55,000 for the 18 month period (or £36,000 for 12 months).

We have rationalised services and cut back our operating costs significantly, and we expect to show a small surplus (excluding depreciation) for the current year.

Finally, I pay tribute to our team, the 19 members of staff who work tirelessly to make an impact and to our wonderful volunteers who contribute so much time and talent to the charity and the people we serve.

Much of our focus has been on increasing income from non-grant sources and we have been very successful in growing our events, building and donor income. I am deeply grateful to those who help us through grants, sponsorship, fundraising and donations. See page 16 for more details.

O

ver the past eighteen months we engaged extensively with our stakeholders and carried out a large survey of people who come to or use the charity’s services. It was a way to find out how far we achieve our aims, and how far we meet needs and expectations. In general people thought the charity was fulfilling its mission to help the needy and vulnerable in the Irish community in London, and to promote Irish art and culture, and to be at the heart of the Irish community in London. Overall this was satisfactory, and, of course, we can and aim to improve. The findings gave pointers to consider as we look to the future and develop what the charity provides. Many thanks to everyone who took part.

Individual giving contributes significantly and so we were delighted to make Margaret Brown our 2nd Honorary Life Member - Margaret’s work on behalf of the charity is notable.

Some members of the Board of Trustees have stepped down, and I offer sincere thanks to Maeve Buckley, Evan Long, David Perkins, Kieran Ryan and Bernadette Sexton for their time and commitment. Subsequently we carried out a skills analysis and recruited widely before inviting Paddy Cowan, Philomena Cullen, Nyall Jacobs, Mary Kerrigan, and Alex O’Cinneide to join our board.

Our standing committee members have contributed significantly to our operations and thanks are due to non-trustees Mark Fitzpatrick (Building); Melanie Black, Brid Breathnach and Charlotte Curran (Welfare); Dylan Haskins and John Nolan (Culture).

We have continued to circulate updates and reports after each board meeting and I am pleased to hear how many value these reports and throughout the year I will provide information on the board and board meetings.

The dedication and hard work of our staff always impresses me; there have been a lot of changes to improve the services and staff have shown their commitment as they adapt to these. On behalf of the Board I am pleased to acknowledge all that the staff and our volunteers accomplish.

As Seán has reported, our strategy of building multiple streams of income is working and we will continue to develop new income streams over the coming years. One innovation is our Friends Scheme and I am confident many in the community will sign up and in that way show how much they value the charity and the work we do. Further details are on page 19. We are very grateful to all who support the charity, in particular the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme, Camden Council, the Irish Youth Foundation, Culture Ireland and the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick.

All our funders and supporters are listed on page 16.

Finally, we send our condolences and sympathy to the families and friends of members who were great supporters of the Centre and have died in recent years: Marie Carrick, Florrie D’Arcy, Peter Hynes, John Lydon, James Ormond, Frank O’Donnell, James O’Rielly, Winnie Paterson and Anne Sherwin.

Sean Kennedy CEO

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Dermot Murphy Chair of the Board of Trustees

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Dermot O’Leary, LICC Patron

HIGHLIGHTS

In late 2015, radio and TV star and proud London Irish man, Dermot O’Leary joined the LICC as charity patron.

With deep connections to Ireland and Irish culture through his family, Dermot is becoming an invaluable supporter and ambassador for the important work of our team.

As well as attending and speaking at our fast-growing annual black-tie fundraiser, the Big Night Out, Dermot has also been very active in supporting our seasonal campaigns and fundraising drives.

Library Opening 18th April 2015

1916 Centenary Commemorations

In April 2015, we were delighted to open the doors of the new London Irish Library to the public.

As most readers will know, 2016 marked 100 years since the Easter Rising, a historic milestone in Ireland’s journey to independence and a key focal point in the long relationship between Britain and Ireland.

The seed for this important new community resource was a donation of books from the Foley Family. This donation, plus a couple of later, smaller ones, attracted the interest of visiting government ministers from Ireland, who worked with the charity in putting a call out for further donations and support to publishers, libraries and politicians in Ireland.

Through the year, we ran a series of events, activities and festivals which explored a wide mix of angles on the Rising. This series included art exhibitions, concerts, panel discussions, community gatherings and theatre.

This drive resulted in over 10,000 books being delivered pro-bono by An Post (Ireland’s postal service) to Camden Square. Fitting in with our redevelopment of the historic Kennedy Hall part of the Centre, the Library found a dedicated home here at the LIC.

We could not have delivered such a substantial programme without the support of funders and partners like The Abbey Theatre, Culture Ireland, RTÉ and the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme. See the CULTURE section of this report for further detail.

A dedicated team of volunteers worked closely with our team on sorting, cataloguing and shelving the books in time for the official launch in April 2015.

‘

Cocktail Party with Angela Scanlon Another star who has joined as a support of the LICC is Angela Scanlon from Robot Wars and One Show Fame.

Angela is working very closely with our senior team on creating exciting and innovate events which promote our work to new audiences in the Irish community in London. The first of these was the hugely successful ‘Bloomin Lovely Night Out’ in October 2016, which saw a packed house enjoy a night of fun and festivity for our good cause.

“It’s a big honour for me to become a patron of the LICC. I’m very proud of my Irish heritage, my parents were part of the post war generation of immigrants who came to London to find a new life, so the London Irish community is one that is very close to my heart. I’m looking forward to helping LICC both promote Irish culture and to help them with their equally important role of helping the vulnerable in the local community”.

Community Consultation Continuing our long tradition of listening and responding to the current and changing needs of the Irish in London, we carried out our largest ever community consultation in 2015.

This involved long-form face-to-face interviews with a wide range of community partners and stakeholders as well as 500 online questionnaires. Our project team, led by Trustee Mary Hickman, was pleased with the demographic mix and spread which responded.

In this process, we asked important, community focused questions which give our Board and senior team the very latest input to inform the charity’s strategic thinking.

Dermot O’Leary London Irish Centre Charity Patron 4

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ADVICE & OUTREACH

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

Welfare Service

Over the past 18 months the London Irish Centre Charity has assisted the Irish community with advice on welfare benefits, priority debt, housing, moving to London, repatriation, and health related issues. Our workers have dealt with 10,125 welfare enquiries, providing 3,150 welfare sessions, and 2,995 clients received intensive support. We have continued to support clients who contact us via our website and through social media. We have dealt with over 340 online inquiries and our “Moving to London” booklet has been downloaded over 10,500 times.

The London Irish Centre Charity offers advice and assistance to Irish people across London. Our front line advice staff are often the first point of contact for clients who are in crisis and need emergency support.

The team have continued to provide specialist accredited advice, support and assistances on a wide range of welfare, housing and debt related issues.

We deliver this support through intensive face-to-face advice, telephone support, casework, advocacy, and representations. Referrals are from word-of-mouth, from local agencies and from partner organisations.

Our advice services are in Camden, Kilburn and West Kensington with advice clinics in Ealing and Wimbledon.

Brexit Brexit is a complex issue for our client group. In these uncertain times we have received a significant number of enquiries from clients who traditionally might not have contacted the welfare service. Brexit has resulted in many of our clients worrying about returning home, transferring pensions and housing entitlement. The impact of Brexit has seen a significant increase in passport enquiries. We have experienced ongoing enquiry demand as well as distributing over 2,400 passport forms since the referendum.

The impact of welfare reform has continued to impact on our client groups. Coupled with the cuts to statutory services, it is increasingly difficult for our clients to access the support they require.

Recent analysis of our data provided us with some key information: 8% are under 35 years old – this group continues to face a number of benefit restrictions making it difficult to provide accommodation. If Housing Benefit is cut for the 18 to 21 year cohort this will have a significant impact on our young clients.

The Advice Quality Mark The charity received the Advice Quality Mark [AQS] mark of quality for independent advice organisations in August 2016. The AQS report stated that “The Advice Quality Manual clearly describes the quality procedures, underpinning day to day operations and the charity continues to demonstrate high levels of compliance with the principles of the standard. As a result, LICC received no corrective actions during the audit and the team should be congratulated on this excellent achievement.”

27% are aged between 35 and 64 - in many ways this is the most challenging group to work with as many are living with long term physical and mental health conditions. There has been significant cuts to benefits and this has had a significant impact for our clients with many having an increasing requirement to seek work. Cuts to benefits allied with low income for this group is leading to high levels of priority debt.

Support we can offer The London Irish Centre Charity is the grant administrator for the Benevolent Fund of St Patrick and the Irish Youth Foundation emergency fund. The fund has made over £40,000 of awards to LICC clients and partner agencies to alleviate hardship. The impact of the award can be life changing and allows the charity to support clients who are in real crisis. Examples of awards made include repatriation, accommodation, food, and essential white goods.

65% are aged 65 and over (42% of which are over 75) - whilst this group is relatively financially secure there are increasing health issues and higher levels of loneliness. This group requires support with accessing welfare benefits and increasingly intensive support to access social care services.

83% of clients have described their health as “poor” or “very poor” - of which 75% have presented with a long term mental health condition, making it difficult for them to manage their own affairs and requiring significant levels of support from the LICC Advice & Outreach Service.

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Partnerships In order to meet the needs of our client group it is essential we work creatively and in collaboration with key Partners. As a service, we recognise the importance of developing these partnerships to ensure our clients receive optimum levels of support. Some of our key stakeholders include local authorities, Shelter, Job Centre Plus, and Single Homeless Project. The challenge for the charity in the year ahead is to increase these partnerships across health and social care.

Work Ready Client Over the last year we have started to see an increase in young clients who are skilled and work ready. They often have job offers but they are not aware of the challenges of moving to London and how to access employment, accommodation and primary support such as bank accounts and national insurance numbers. As a service, we need to continue to broker partnerships with services which can support this client group to ensure they receive the support before they leave Ireland and as they start their journey in London.

The charity provided Denise with food vouchers and bus tickets, subsidised by the Benevolent Society of St Patrick. Denise was assisted and supported to apply to the local authorities Social Welfare Fund, from which she received two awards. At Christmas, the charity provided donated toys for Denise to give to Ted at Christmas and a hamper.

Case study Denise is a second-generation Irish 46 year old lone parent of Ted, aged 7. They live in Camden. Her parents were clients of LICC a number of years ago, and she has actively used the service since 2012.

After six months the appeal was finally heard, and with our support throughout, the outcome was successful, and her entitlement was reinstated in early January 2017.

In July 2016, Denise needed assistance with completing a benefit form to ensure her ongoing entitlement to Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) was maintained. The LICC assisted in completing the form, but following a subsequent medical assessment, she was found capable of work by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and her ESA claim entitlement was terminated.

Most recently, we have assisted Denise with her housing issues. This has resulted in Denise’s Housing Association moving her to accommodation more suitable for her and Ted. What Denise said about LICC

Our advice worker supported Denise with submitting a request to the DWP for a “mandatory reconsideration”.

When this reconsideration was declined, we then supported Denise through the process of making an appeal to an independent appeal tribunal. Ancillary aspects of this support included ensuring that her existing entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support remained unaffected, since she was being subsidised due to no income.

“God bless all at the Irish Centre. I would have been lost without the care and support. You helped my Mum and Dad throughout the years and this is why I will always come to you. You’ve never not tried to do your best for me and my family”. - Denise

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WELLBEING

WELLBEING

Our Day Centre is located in the Kennedy Hall at the London Irish Centre. It runs three days a week offering nutritious and comforting home-cooked meals and a range of activities and classes including: chair based exercises, health information days, wellbeing workshops, art classes, bingo, quizzes, holidays, language classes, and day trips. The main remit of the Day Centre is to encourage social inclusion and to promote wellbeing. The group go on many outings from Brighton to Margate, and to Hastings. Last year the outings culminated in a four-day trip to Cornwall.

Our Tea Dance takes place in the McNamara Hall and Presidential Suites at the London Irish Centre.

The Tea Dance has been running for decades and runs every other Wednesday, featuring live music and dancing, activities and refreshments.

We also host an Irish Breakfast and High Tea which invites the community to come together and share breakfast and afternoon tea.

Feedback from a service user:

“I’m a part of something now. I have many friends at the centre and they’ve helped me with everything. I used to just sit indoors and stare at the walls and that’s not right. The centre has been a lifeline—I mean that” John

Wellbeing Service

Social Groups For members of the older Irish community who may not be able to travel to Camden we run Social Groups throughout London. These groups provide an opportunity for the Irish community to come together and socialise. The groups offer activities, classes, health information, exercise sessions, and refreshments. They create an opportunity for people to celebrate and enjoy their culture, to have fun and make new friends. Carers are also welcome.

The groups are located in Sutton, Ealing, Hanwell, Shepherd’s Bush and Hammersmith (located at the newly opened Irish Cultural Centre).

The Wellbeing Service exists to reduce social isolation and deliver activities to promote good physical and emotional health which improve wellbeing and quality of life for the Irish Community aged 55 and over.

The Wellbeing service is made up of the Day Centre based at Camden Square, the Tea Dance at Camden Square, and our Social Groups across London. We offer individual casework to our service users participating in our wellbeing activities. We offer one-to-one support for service users who are living with terminal illness and/or those at risk of social isolation. We aim to create and nurture a community, and the support and friendship that it brings.

Case study The LICC was contacted by Maura’s niece, who lives in the USA. She was worried about Maura, who is resident in Camden with no family support.

Maura is in the early stages of living with dementia.

Samantha (her niece) had concerns that Maura was not eating properly and was at risk in her day-today life. Maura lives in a small flat and can often be seen walking around Camden, sometimes showing signs of confusion. She wears a name badge with emergency contact information in case she gets lost.

With the support of Samantha, Maura joined the Wellbeing Service, attending three days a week.

She enjoyed the music, meals and cultural events, and particularly valued being supported by staff speaking Irish. Recently, Maura’s condition deteriorated, and she stopped attending the centre.

The LICC referred Maura to an NHS Memory Clinic for an assessment, and contacted Social Services to notify them of concerns for her wellbeing. Maura was allocated a social worker and was soon matched to a dementia day centre. Unfortunately, Maura continued to feel isolated, and reported feeling depressed.

LICC worked with Maura’s local church, and found a volunteer who could commit to befriending Maura and bring her to the lunch club three days a week.

“To know that my aunt has the London Irish Centre is such a reassurance. She has no one else. I know that she is safe and eating and laughing and doing all of the things that she enjoys. Dementia has not changed her life significantly and she can continue to live her life, how she wants to, which is very important. Thank you!” Samantha

Feedback from a group member:

Most of those who attend our Wellbeing Services came to London in the 1950’s and 1960’s, whom the London Irish Centre helped on their arrival. Now, in another phase of their lives, the charity continues to offer them support, community and vital social opportunities.

“I don’t feel old when I come here; it’s very young at heart and we’re always learning and laughing…”

Samantha 8

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VOLUNTEERING

Volunteers A special thanks to Nicola O’Regan and Alan Locke for their specialist work with our HR and IT respectively and to the volunteers on our committees:

Big Night Out and Events: Jodie McGeady, Ann-Maria McCarthy, Jim Quinn, Alex O’Cinneide, Mary Kerrigan, Sean McDermott and Caroline McLaughlin Building: Mark Fitzpatrick Welfare: Brid Breathnach, Melanie Black and Charlotte Curran Culture: Dylan Haskins and John Nolan Volunteering Events Volunteers engage with the charity for many reasons to give back, to connect with their Irish identity or to improve their skills. Throughout the year the organisation provides training and social events to provide opportunities for social interaction as well as skills development. Feedback from our volunteers highlights the key reasons for volunteering for the charity:

Volunteering The charity’s volunteers are vital to our work. Every day volunteers help us to carry out the work we do.

Over the 18 month period 160 volunteers worked with us across 27 different roles. The Economic Value of this work is estimated at £120,000 and the Wellbeing Value to the volunteers at £95,000.

Maintaining a link to Ireland – 75% of volunteers believed volunteering at the LICC had maintained or increased their connection to Ireland and/or Irish identity.

Missing Persons Project The LICC’s Missing Persons Service allows family to trace long lost relatives who, typically, moved to London many years ago and lost touch with their family. The project received 72 enquiries and 38 searches were carried out.

Befriending Project

Kerry Holiday

The Befriending Service was established to support clients who are socially isolated, vulnerable and who would benefit from befriending support. Volunteers are matched to service users for a minimum of one hour a week to offer a supportive friendship. The project supported over 30 clients across four local authorities and 100% surveyed felt the service had an overwhelmingly positive impact on them.

Kerry Emigrant Support [KES] in partnership with the London Irish Centre Charity organises a yearly holiday to Kerry for older clients who would not be able to make the journey alone. This year 31 pensioners made the journey to Kerry.

The aim of the service is to address these needs: Improving self-worth – 88% felt volunteering with the LICC made them feel more positive and engaged.

Improvements in skill set – 82% believed volunteering had improved their skill set or employability.

1. Reduce isolation and improve wellbeing 2. Enable welfare service uptake of both internal and external services for older Irish people 3. Help older Irish people retain their independence 4. Meet the cultural needs of clients Providing a culturally sensitive Volunteering and Befriending Service is increasingly valuable as it fosters a sense of Irish identity, reduces isolation and loneliness and encourages elders to remain independent while volunteers develop altruism, social skills and secondary employment skills.

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1916 Centenary Commemorations

CULTURE

a small private donation through a national appeal into something very substantial, is now available for visits and bookings.

One of the dominant themes of the 2016 programme was the Centenary Commemoration of Ireland’s Easter Rising, 1916 – a historic milestone in Ireland’s and Britain’s history.

A flagship event happened In April, when we partnered with Ireland’s National Theatre, The Abbey, to bring a very special production of Jimmy Murphy’s ‘Of This Brave Time’ to Camden. This innovative approach to presenting world-class theatre in community spaces resulted in two sold out shows.

Education & Music Series

Céad - Irish Arts Festival Summer 2016 saw the launch of a new weekend-long Irish Arts Festival, themed ‘Céad’ (the Irish for 100) in its first year. The programme featured leading international musicians, the RTÉ Contempo Quarter, family workshops, pop-up theatre and a day of film from the Irish Film Institute. The festival returns in July 2017.

Over 10,000

Our in-house education programme provides excellent learning opportunities in Irish language, culture and history, while the Irish music and dance schools that we host catered for hundreds of keen students. From aged 5-90, people engaged with accessible, high quality ways to learn about Irish culture.

We were very pleased to welcome Ceann Comhairle Séan Ó Fearghail T.D., Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall, plus community and cultural leaders and politicians from both Britain and Ireland to the historic launch event in April 2015. We are deeply grateful to our hard-working volunteers and staff for their central role in realising this vision.

Music was a strong thread in the programme, with several strong concert series for leading acts like Sharon Shannon, Damien Dempsey and KILA. Our audiences are growing and their feedback tells us that they like what they’re seeing and hearing.

Festivals & St. Patrick’s Day A number of festivals brought great culture and colour to the Centre throughout the year. As well as the iconic Return to Camden Town Festival of Irish Music, Song and Dance, which filled the rooms with jigs, reels and songs, we partnered with ‘Biscuits for Breakfast’ theatre company on a brand new ‘London Irish Short Play Festival’.

People attended our charity’s Events

Over 70 Arts & Culture Events

Over 700

Thanks

Irish Community events hosted and supported

All of the good work above requires lots of time, people and resources. We are deeply grateful to our staff, volunteers, funders, community partners, community, freelance team and production partners and our Arts Committee for helping us to make this important work happen.

Over 200

Our visual arts programme featured a series of exhibitions which reflected on the themes and legacy of The Rising, including an exhibition of new illustrative works by Jim McGarry.

People took Irish Language Lessons with us

Over 6,000

London Irish Library

Books were processed in our Library

89%

Another significant addition to our cultural services was the official opening of our new ‘London Irish Library’. This important new resource, which grew from

Of attendees surveyed rated events Excellent to Very Good 12

We can’t write about festivals and not mention St. Patrick’s Day. As is becoming standard, our entire building was packed from morning to night with Irish culture, community and craic. This flagship event is central to our programme and gives the Irish in London plus anyone who wants to experience an authentic St. Patrick’s Day celebration the opportunity to participate.

Also, to our audience and the community around the LICC, we love working with you and look forward to more exciting cultural and community creativity.

Do visit our website or social media channels to learn about the latest programming. @LDNIrishCentre

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PEOPLE

FINANCE

Gary Dunne - Director of Culture Hannah Pender - Culture Manager Jack Field - Cleaner Jenny Dunne - Team Leader Kim Jackson - Operations Manager Marcella Doyle - Advice and Outreach Officer Margaret Kiely - Reception Administrator Maria Connolly - Wellbeing Officer Mary Gleeson - Advice and Outreach Officer Mo Draper - Advice and Outreach Officer Sean Kennedy - CEO Tracy Kemp - Cook Yolanda Keogh - Advice and Outreach Officer

Sliced Events This period has seen Sliced Events continue to invest heavily into the London Irish Centre. May 2015 saw a £30,000 face-lift on the front of the building and early 2016 saw considerable investment in a new wide-screen projector screen in the McNamara Hall along with new projectors in both the McNamara Hall and Presidential Suite. The McNamara Hall also saw further investment in the Sound Desk equipment and extensive audio visual cabling. Yet more investment was made when a dedicated 100mb fibre-optic broadband line was installed in August 2016.

FUNDING

Ailbhe Ni Earrain, Alex O’Cinneide, Alan Locke, Alison O’Brien, Ann Walsh, Anne Campbell, Anthony Palmer, Bea Gaunt, Bernadette Lawlor, Bernadette Sexton, Breda Cornish, Breda Sullivan, Brid Breathnach, Bernadette Nestor, Caiomhe Anderson, Catherine Phelan, Cathy Berrie, Catriona Conway, Charmaine Doherty, Charlotte Curran, Ciara Holland, Clare Gordon, Cliodhna O’Connor, Clive McCrory, Colin Sheehan, Colum Lawlor, Colum Carty, Conor Doolan, Damian Kehoe, Daire Fitzharris, David Claxton, David Perkins, Declan Becton, Denis Connolly, Dermott Murphy, Edivige Oliveira, Eileen McMahon, Elaine Kealy, Eleanor O’Connell, Emma Twomey, Emer Kelly, Kieran Ryan, Evan Long, Faiza Ibrahim, Fiona Marie Rae, Francesca Neal, Geasley Scherding, Geraldine O’Regan, Geraldine Williams, Gina Cavalzani, Heidi Murphy, Ian McKim, Iria Rio, James Ryan, Jane Austin, Janet Donaghey, Jennifer Stacey, Jer O’Mahony, Jo Kimber, Julia Howard (Sister), Katrina Byrne, Ken Mulkearn, Kathryn Lillis, Levi Hepp, Louise Nolan, Luke Callinan, Lyndsey Drea, Maeve Buckley, Maeve Groghan, Maire Duckett, Margaret O’Connor, Marguerite Mason, Maria Loftus, Marie Burke, Marie McMorrow, Marion Esfandiari, Marion Faith-Fraser, Mary Hickman, Mary Kerrigan, Mary McDonagh, May Christina, Melanie Black, Michael Bourke, Michael Cronin, Michael Young, Niamh Doyle, Nicola O` Reegan, Nicole McNeilly, Nick Beard, Nicole Charlet, Noel Burke, Noleen Duncan, Orion Fitzsimmons, Paddy Cowan, Patricia (Pat) Doherty, Patricia (Pat) Green, Patricia (Pat) Leonard, Patrick Roper, Patrick Sheehan, Padraig Neary, Rachel Daly, Rita Murphy, Rory McKenna, Rose Haddow, Ruairi O’Neill, Rumana Begum, Ryan McCann, Sean Kennedy, Sarah Colclough, Sarah Horgan, Sean O’Brien, Shona O’Donoghue, Sharon Michaelson, Sharon Donnelly, Sinead O’Leary, Sinead Sweeney, Sinead Nevin, Siobhan Grant, Stephen Quigley, Susan Gallivan, Tom O’Neill, Vanessa Robinson, Will Finn.

Sam Hooper (Event Co-ordination Manager) and David Burns (Business Development Manager) have significantly increased the profile and marketing of the venue in the search for new business opportunities, organising and hosting Sliced Events’ own Wedding Fair, introducing the Hub Bar and McNamara to the traditional Irish melodies of The Phoenix Collective (a band made up from the original cast of the West End Musical “Once”), as well as working closely with the London Irish Centre Charity hosting many Irish and community users as part of the charity’s community usage programme.

Our Board Alex O’Cinneide - Development Committee Dermot Murphy - Chair and Welfare Committee Ian McKim - Audit Committee Lyndsey Drea - Audit Committee Mary Kerrigan - Audit Committee Nyall Jacobs - Treasurer and Finance Committee Paddy Cowan - Development Committee Philomena Cullen - Welfare Committee Professor Mary Hickman - Culture Committee

Our Staff Team Carole Fox - Wellbeing Officer Cath Coleman - Advice and Outreach Officer Caitriona Carney - Director of Welfare Dane Buckley - Wellbeing Services Manager Frances Whelan - Advice and Outreach Officer 14

2015-16 (18 Months)

2014-15

TOTAL INCOME

£1,240,697

£ 990,421

£519,115

£500,000

£1,191,771

£1,043,355

£156,531

£ 72,709

£1,348,302

£1,116,064

-£107,605

-£125,643

£ 1,984,063

£2,091,668

£2,155,283

£2,201,175

£8,312

£39,151

£445,230

£169,808

Creditors

-£624,762

-£318,466

Net Current Assets

-£171,220

£109,507

£1,984,063

£2,091,668

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Emigrant Support Programme Direct Charitable Expenditure Support and Governance Costs Total Resources Expended Net Incoming Resources Balances Carried Forward

Our Volunteers

This has largely been a period of business stabilisation with Andrew Murray completing nearly two years in his role as Sliced Events Venue Manager and the rest of the full-time Front of House Team all clocking up over 12 months each in their positions. This solid foundation has been completed by the addition of a dedicated twoperson Event Sales and Business Development team.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

BALANCE SHEET Fixed Assets Debtors Cash in Bank

Total Assests less Liabilities

FUNDRAISING EFFORTS Large Donations

£

Individual Donations

£52,983

£38,073

Fundraising Events

£79,494

£40,830

Recurring Donations

£

£

Total Fundraising

-

-

£132,477

PRINCIPAL FUNDERS

15

£

-

-

£78,903

INCOME GENERATION

FUNDRAISING

The charity`s strategy is to create multiple streams of income in order to fund current services and allow the Charity to plan for stability and growth.

Grant Income Our largest grant is given by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade`s Emigrant Support Programme (ESP). This totalled £519,115 over 18 months to support our work in four areas: Advice and Outreach; Elders’ Wellbeing Services; Befriending and Volunteering project and Arts and Culture. This support is crucial for the continuation of the work in these projects and we are deeply grateful to the continued support of the Irish Government at a time when Ireland is recovering from economic hardship.

Other grants were received from •

Culture Ireland

•

The Irish Youth Foundation

•

The Benevolent Society of St. Patrick

•

The London Borough of Camden

The charity wishes to thank these organisations for their generous funding and support.

The Big Night Out

Donors and Friends

Our Big Night Out gets better and better. This year we worked with Anna Brennan from Little Miss Events and Anna brought a new dimension to the event. Her tireless work resulted in new sponsors coming on board and contributed to a wonderful evening of fun and fundraising. BNO income came in at £79,494 and we would like to acknowledge:

A special thanks to those who give monthly anonymously, we don’t have a way of thanking you personally but your help really does make a difference and is greatly appreciated. General donations came to £57,325. A special thanks to The London Rose Centre and:

SPONSORS:

•

Football legend Pat Jennings who raised £900

•

Honorary Life Member who raised £2,500

•

Ian McLintock who raised £700

ADVERTISERS:

•

London Overland Retail Operations who donated £300

AIB, Bugler Group, CBW Dynamic Accounting, Innisfree Housing Association and The McGrath Group

•

Moreland Investments Ltd who donated £5,000

•

Arsenal Football Trust (in conjunction with our Patron Dermot O` Leary) who donated £2,500

O’Donovan Waste - our Table Centre Sponsors The Irish World - our Brochure Sponsors

OUR LIVE AUCTION DONORS:

We are very grateful to Paul Hastings LLP for their pro-bono legal and professional support.

The value of the work received is in the region of £50,000 over the 18 month period.

Aer Lingus, Manor House - Ditchet, Paul Nichols, Sean McDermot, The Irish Embassy and The Irish Ambassador to Great Britain, The Late Late Show, The Lord Mayor of Dublin, The Morgan Hotel Group, The Ritz Hotel and Tourism Ireland.

OUR SILENT AUCTION DONORS: Building Income Over the past 3 years our Camden building has become an increasingly important part of our income mix. However, the original part of the building dates to the 1850s and needs substantial and costly maintenance as well general running costs. We received £356,484 from rents and commissions which has been instrumental in offsetting reductions in our grant income. We continue to invest in the building and hope to further develop the Centre over the coming years.

Trading Income Our cultural, education, day centre and social group activities take place throughout the year from sell-out major concerts in the McNamara Hall, Irish language classes in the Kennedy Hall, hot lunches in the Day Centre and social activities in our social groups across London. In total these activities grossed £146,870.

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Berrys Champagne, Blossoms Healthcare, Doran Vineyards, Enterkine House Hotel, Four Seasons Fairways, Harvey’s Point, Hook Restaurants, Josie McGeady, Just Swim, LondonCity Physiotherapy, London Irish Rugby, Sahara Force India Formula One, The Waterford London Association and Wood Farms Pigs.

The Christmas Appeal Our 2015 Christmas appeal raised £7,200. The appeal is now in its second year and we were delighted with the response from the Irish community, not just in London but from Ireland and even further afield.

As one donor wrote,

“I lived in England for 25 years... we were lucky... there but for the grace of God goes any of us…”

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OUR LOCATIONS

BECOME A FRIEND

HEAD OFFICE 50–52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB PHONE 020 7916 2222 FAX 020 7916 2638 EMAIL info@londonirishcentre.org

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OPENING HOURS (Advice drop-in) By appointment only Monday Tuesday 9.30am – 12.30pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm Wednesday 2.00pm – 4.00pm Thursday 9.30am – 12.30pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm Friday 9.30am – 12.30pm

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At a time of severe funding cuts we need your support more than ever to help us continue our work and to plan for the future.

When you become a Friend, you will also enjoy the benefits of priority and early booking to some of our most popular events.

When you sign up as a Friend of the London Irish Centre Charity you are joining a community of people who are committed to supporting the most vulnerable and isolated in our society.

See how your gift will impact on the most vulnerable.

BRONZE £5pm

SILVER £15pm

BRONZE £50pm

PLATINUM £100+pm

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KILBURN OFFICE 14a Quex Road, London NW6 4PL PHONE 020 7372 4389 EMAIL kilburn@londonirishcentre.org

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CLOSEST TUBE West Hampstead or Kilburn (Jubilee line) CLOSEST TRAIN Kilburn High Rd (Overground) BUSES 16, 31 and 98

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WEST LONDON OFFICE Avonmore Library and Neighbourhood Centre 7 North End Crescent, London W14 8TG PHONE 020 7916 2222 EMAIL info@londonirishcentre.org

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CLOSEST TUBE West Kensington (District line) BUSES 28 and 391 (Lytton Estate stop on North End Road)

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OPENING HOURS By appointment only Monday, Tuesday 1.00pm to 4.00pm.

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West Kensington

PHONE 020 7916 2222 EMAIL venuehire@slicedevents.com @LDNIrishCentre

£15 per month will fund a day trip for 25 older Irish people

£50 per month will fund a befriender for an isolated Irish person for one year

facebook.com/londonirishcentre

Registered Charity No. 1149787. Company No. 8221421.

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£100 per month will fund 600 nutritious meals for vulnerable Irish clients

FRIENDSHIP BENEFITS

BRONZE £5pm • Bi-annual Friends Newsletter on work of the London Irish Centre Charity • Exclusive access to the events calendar before wider release • One 25% discounted event for two at the London Irish Centre*

SILVER £15pm

BRONZE £50pm

PLATINUM £100+pm

• Entitled to all of the benefits of Bronze Friends level

• All of the benefits of Bronze and Silver Friends level

• All of the benefits of Bronze, Silver and Gold level,

• An exclusive tour of the London Irish Centre, meeting with staff and CEO

• An exclusive Gold Friends winter drinks party at the London Irish Centre with entertainment

• plus attendance at annual Platinum Friends events with celebrity guests

*From selection of events in Friends e-newsletter

LONDON IRISH CENTRE CHARITY 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB T: 020 7916 2222 info@londonirishcentre.org

JOIN SECURELY ONLINE

EVENTS & VENUE HIRE 50–52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB

www.londonirishcentre.org

£5 per month provides an essential pack for an Irish rough sleeper

To join friends scheme securely sign up online, please visit www.justgiving.com/londonirishcentre and click ‘make a monthly donation’. You will be automatically enrolled as a LICC Friend.

www.londonirishcentre.org London Irish Centre Charity is both a Registered Charity No: 1149787 and an Irish Community Centre.

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selection selection of events of events • One• 25% One 25% discounted discounted*From*From Postcode in Friends e-newsletter e-newsletter eventevent for two forattwo theat the in Friends London London Irish Irish Centre* Centre* Country

Date of Birth Tel E-mail

SILVER

GOLD

PLATINUM

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CULTURE

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TO PROMOTE IRISH ART, CULTURE AND HERITAGE

COMMUNITY

TO RELIEVE AND COMBAT POVERTY AND HARDSHIP

be automatically enrolled as a Friend.

I want to Gift Aid my donation and any donations I “I’ve“I’ve slept slept in the in the streets, streets, in doorways, in doorways, Ireland Ireland seemed seemed a million a million miles miles away, away, make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to LONDON IRISH CENTRE CHARITY Irish Centre Charity.

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“Growing “Growing up I visited up I visited the London the London “The “The London London Irish Irish Centre Centre Charity Charity Please contact LICC if you want to cancel this declaration, change Irish Irish Centre Centre for family for family celebrations celebrations embodies embodies what what Irish Irish people people do do /londonirishcentre @LDNIrishCentre your name or home address or no longer pay sufficient tax on your and recognise and recognise that for thata for generation a generation best best - those - those that have, that have, helping helping income and/or capital gains. it hasitbeen has been at theatvery the heart very heart of ourof our thosethose that need. that need.

I’d encourage I’d encourage www.londonirishcentre.org If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to community.” community.” everyone everyone to support to support their their work.” work.” receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your London Irish Centre Charity is both a Registered Charity Gift Aid donations on (Writer) your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Patrick No: 1149787 and an Irish Community Centre.

Angela Angela Scanlon Scanlon (Writer) Patrick KieltyKielty (Comedian) (Comedian)

Events Missing Persons

Education Day Centre

TO RELIEVE THOSE IN NEED

BY WAY OF DISADVANTAGE

Library TO ADVANCE EDUCATION IN IRISH CULTURE AND LANGUAGE Social Groups

Befriending CORE OBJECTIVES Camden Building

Volunteering Advice & Outreach

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CARE