A BIRMINGHAM blog which has been specifically penned to mark St Patrick’s Day 2015 was revealed today detailing the history of the occasion in the city.
The article features as a special edition of the Library of Birmingham’s regular The Iron Room blog series.
It has been composed by Jim Ranahan, an archivist at the library - which is currently under threat due to wide ranging council budget cuts due to be implemented across the city next month.
“Saint Patrick’s feast day is celebrated across the world, wherever Irish people gather: from Dublin to Derby to Dubai and from Belfast to Barnsley to Brisbane – and all points in between.
"Birmingham has a long history of celebrating this day, with Thomas Finigan observing the practice amongst Irish immigrants in 1838,” Mr Ranahan writes, peppering the piece with Irish-related imagery and extracts all currently found in the archives of the Library of Birmingham.
Late last year the venue embarked on establishing a specific Archive of Irish Birmingham, which was due to be launched this month but now hangs in the balance due to the impending council cuts.
But Mr Ranahan, who is spearheading the project, refuses to allow the Irish contribution to the city to go unnoticed and made it his priority to ensure the library marked Ireland’s national day in some way.
“I wrote the blog piece specifically for this week’s issue of The Iron Room blog – which is named after the ‘Inner Iron Room’ which is where all archives were kept in Birmingham’s Victorian library” he told The Irish Post.
“One piece is produced every week, usually by archivists but occasionally by guest contributors, and I always strive to ensure that St Patrick’s Day is marked.”
He added: “Our blog at this time last year referred to a series of events called ‘Celebrating the Irish Community’ which we organised for 2014. I had hoped to mount something similar for 2015, but current uncertainties over the future of archive services at the Library of Birmingham has prevented this. So this week’s blog piece is my small contribution to marking St Patrick’s Day this year.”
The images used in the Inner Iron Room blogs are all taken from the archives at the Library of Birmingham – many from old established collections, which are not focused on Ireland or the Irish, but which inevitably include material which is relevant for those interested in Ireland and the Irish, Mr Ranahan explained.
While the archivist awaits news of the future of the Irish archive and material already collected within in – including the Brendan Farrell Collection, which boasts 50 years of photography by former Irish Post photojournalist Brendan Farrell - he has confirmed that the project is still attracting attention across the city.
“Despite the current uncertainty at the Library of Birmingham, the Archives of Irish Birmingham project continues to attract offers of new material,” Mr Ranahan confirmed.
“This has been a beacon of hope in what has otherwise been an anxious period,” he added.
Read the full St Patrick’s Day blog at The Iron Room here
