The Tánaiste, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin TD, today announced a further €2.2 million in funding for the London Irish Centre’s (LIC) redevelopment project.
The Tánaiste met with Rosaleen Blair, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Séamus MacCormaic, CEO of the London Irish Centre, at the Embassy of Ireland in London.
This latest grant brings the total funding from the Government for the London Irish Centre re-development project to €3.35 million.
Speaking at the Embassy, the Tánaiste said:
“The London Irish Centre has been a hub of Irish community activity and support in the city for almost seventy years and it is important that it continues to be in a position to best serve London’s Irish community in the years ahead.
“The LIC Board, under the leadership of Rosaleen Blair, has ambitious plans for the future of the Centre and the Government is pleased to be in a position to support its re-development plan. I have visited the Centre a number of times over the years, most recently last September, and I am familiar with the tireless work of the staff and volunteers in supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens.
“The Centre is also an important part of Ireland’s cultural offering in London and this aspect of its work is central to the re-development plan. This is very much in line with the Government’s Global Ireland 2025 commitment to increasing Ireland’s global footprint through culture and something which we are pleased to support.
“The capital grant which I am announcing today is in addition to the €7.32 million (£6.32 million) in funding from my Department’s Emigrant Support Programme already announced earlier this year for Irish community organisations in Britain. Those organisations do extraordinary work all over Britain in providing vital community care, cultural, heritage and other programmes to the large Irish community in Britain. The Irish Government will continue to support that important work into the future.”
