COMMUNITY leader Ant Hanlon has announced his retirement from the role of CEO at Leeds Irish Health and Homes (LIHH).
He will leave the charity he has served for 30 years by the end of 2026, he confirmed over the weekend, claiming it is time for somebody with “a new vision and a new energy” to take the organisation forward.
Lancashire-born, to parents from Co. Wexford, Mr Hanlon was the very first member of staff employed at LIHH when it opened in 1996.
Hired as a Project Development Manager for the fledgling charity, he went on to become a director before taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2005.
The organisation, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has grown significantly in that time - in both the services it provides and the number of clients it serves.
Last year LIHH purchased a building of its own for the very first time.
From its new location at the Broom Hill Centre in Harehills, it continues to provide vital services to members of the Irish community across Leeds.
Ant Hanlon has served Leeds Irish Health and Homes for 30 yearsThese include everything from housing support and wellbeing and befriending services to the many social and cultural events it hosts throughout the year.
Now, as the organisation celebrates 30 years in operation and looks to the future, Mr Hanlon claims the time is right for him to step back.
“I have always been a reflective leader,” he told The Irish Post this week.
“Every year I ask myself if I am the right person to take the organisation to where it needs to be,” he explained.
“In January last year, we purchased a property which we are turning into a community hub.
“It is the first time we have ever owned a building that we can use as both an office and a community centre and that is a big commitment, it takes time, it takes energy and vision.
“Last year, as time was going on, I could see the work that needed doing.
“I thought this is time for someone who has a new vision, perhaps a new energy, and who has that ability to take the organisation to its next level.
Ant Hanlon will retire by the end of this year“It seemed to me to be the right time to retire from the role.”
He added: “The organisation is in a very robust place; we have got a great reputation both locally and nationally and I think across the waters too.
“I just feel that its needs energy and time that I do not have any more.”
Mr Hanlon admits it will be the people he has worked with over the years that he will miss most when he leaves.
“I am a people person, I have learnt so much from the people who have used our services over the years,” he said.
“When you think back on the many faces, the many people who have used our services, or attended our events you realise we have made a difference to those people’s lives,” he added.
“We have stopped them being isolated, we have linked them in with services, we have made connections with family they have lost, we have really turned lives around in many respects.
“There are some really tangible things that show how we impact people as an organisation and there are great characters that are part of that and those are the things that I will really miss.”
Mr Hanlon claims there remains a great need for LIHH’s services, although the demographics of who they serve has changed over the years.
“There is still need among the community here,” he admits.
“There are still people unable to access good quality housing and those who require support with maybe mental health, or they may be heavy drinkers, things like that, and we are able to meet those needs.
“But we have seen a gradual aging of the population during my time at the organisation too.
“Where 30 years ago we would have seen people in their 40s and 50s, now the average age of a lot of people who use our services is over 70.
“That then puts a different slant on what we are trying to do,” he explained.
“We are also seeing an awful lot of second-generation people coming through our service too.”
Leeds Irish Health and Homes support the Irish community across LeedsWhen asked about the highlights of his time at LIHH, Mr Hanlon says there is one in particular that sticks out.
“One of the lovely things we do here is we send everybody we work one-to-one with a birthday, Christmas, St Patrick’s Day and an Easter card,” he said.
“We do that is because one day, when I went to see one of our first clients, on the way out they mentioned to me that it was their birthday.
“I hadn’t seen any cards or anything while I was there. So, I said ‘oh you don’t have any cards’ and they said basically ‘nobody remembers me’.
“When I went back to the office, I said to the team, ‘let’s make sure that everybody we work with has a card on their birthday that says we are thinking about you, you mean something to us’.
“And that has expanded to the four cards we send each person we work with every year. “We try and make sure people know that we think about them. That’s something I am particularly proud of and we have stayed true to that for 28 years now.”
Mr Hanlon adds that his dedication to serving some of the most vulnerable the Irish people in Britain for all these years has stemmed from his experiences growing up in that community.
“My mum is one 14 and my dad is one of eight,” he explained.
“As we grew up there were always lots of family members who came over from Ireland, and they would work their socks off.
“Some had great success in that, and others went by the wayside, went missing, didn’t achieve what they had set out to achieve,” he admits.
“Those stories and that reality stayed with me, very much so.
“I was very proud of my Irish heritage. When I saw the job, at a supporting housing charity for Irish people, it just felt like a calling to me.
“For people to come over to a different country to make a better life, settle down and raise a family, whether that is Irish people or people form any other immigrant group, well you have to respect the people that can do that.
“They come over and give so much of themselves to a new beginning.
“And that is what has been my passion in doing this job, being able to give something back to those people.
“People who worked so hard and came to a point in their life when they needed somebody, to either advocate on their behalf or help them through a system that can often be very difficult to navigate, and to do that with good craic and with kindness.”
He added: “I think kindness is such an underrated element of how we can make a difference to people’s lives.
“But it is such an important thing for me. Something I have tried to do throughout my career is ensure that the services that we provide are provided with kindness.”
See More: Ant Hanlon, Leeds Irish Health And Homes
