17/02/2026
Irish History Month
Did you know that throughout the month of March - the month in which St Patrick’s Day is internationally celebrated - Irish History Month takes place? An initiative brought about by the Irish Arts Foundation in Leeds, Irish History Month exists to promote the many positive contributions that Irish people have made in Leeds and also to introduce new audiences to the vibrancy of Irish arts, heritage, culture, and history.
To begin the month-long celebration of Irish History Month, on Tuesday 3rd March, is the Irish Arts Foundation's newest project, Side by Side: The Remittance Generation & The Windrush Generation'. This event is part of the '1152 club' talks at Abbey House Museum and will focus on lived experiences of Irish and West Indian communities living, working and socialising 'side by side' in the Chapeltown and Potternewton areas of Leeds.
On Saturday 7th March, Northlight Arts will be screening the documentary 'Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story' (2024) as part of Irish History Month 2026, to celebrate International Women's Day. In 1960, a young Edna O'Brien wrote a sexually frank debut novel, 'The Country Girls', becoming a literary sensation. But her success enraged her husband and made her a pariah in her native Ireland, where her books were banned and burned. Edna passed away in 2024, and this film provides a final testimony from her, aged 93, as she reflects upon her extraordinary life.
International Women's Day on Sunday 8th March is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
On the morning of Tuesday 10th March, the smallest cinema in the North of England is screening the 1970 film 'Ryan's Daughter'. The cinema at Armley Mills Leeds Industrial Museum has vintage fittings rescued from the old Palace Picture House in Armley, which closed its doors back in 1964 and boasts positively roomy capacity of 24 seats! The film, set between August 1917 and January 1918 in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, tells the story of a married Irish woman who has an affair with a British officer during World War I, despite moral and political opposition from her nationalist neighbours. The supporting cast features Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones, and Sarah Miles.
On Thursday 19th March, Screen Seven presents the documentary 'Sins of Ireland'. This film is a portrait of Ireland through the lens of the confession box. Fifteen Irish priests who have long listened to the sins of others, offer their own confessional on the rise and fall of a sacrament that now epitomises the turbulent changes in faith and spirituality in contemporary Ireland. The documentary is a nuanced and uncynical examination of confession, as the priests themselves acknowledge how a rite meant to offer absolution and guidance had for many years become a tool of control and shame, with devastating consequences.
On Friday 27th March, in collaboration with Films at HEART, there will be a screening of 'We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly'. James Connolly remains an iconic figure in Irish socialism, republicanism, and the trade union movement. 'We Only Want the Earth' draws directly from his own writings to create a vivid portrait of the man behind the ideals, situating his radical politics and many achievements within the struggles of today's world. The film also documents Connolly's central role in the 1916 Easter Rising, offering new insight into the political and cultural forces that shaped him.
Our final Irish History Month screening on Saturday 28th March at Roundhay Parochial Hall, Oakwood Community Cinema will be 'That They May Face The Rising Sun'. Based on the internationally acclaimed Irish author John McGahern's award-winning novel of the same name, 'That They May Face the Rising Sun' is a vivid evocation of nature, humanity and life itself, set in a 1980's rural community in Ireland. Joe and Kate Ruttledge have returned from London to live and work among a small, rural, lakeside community in Ireland near to where Joe grew up in County Leitrim.
Throughout the month Irish Arts Foundation will be continuing our ongoing work with schools and community groups across Leeds.
Christy Herron Irish Arts Foundation ICT Development Officer said, 'Irish History Month 2026 will have a particular focus on an eclectic mix of Irish cinema – a Leeds Irish Film Festival - across a range of historical and social themes at some of the more unusual venues in the city.'
Organised by the Leeds St Patrick's Day Committee, the Leeds St Patrick's Day Parade will take place on Sunday 15th March, leaving Millennium Square at 10.30am. On the same day is also the neighbouring Huddersfield St. Patrick's Day Parade starting at 1pm at the Open Market.
For further information about Irish History Month events please visit:
All details are correct as of 1st March 2026.
https://www.irisharts.org.uk/events.html
We would like to offer our sincerest gratitude to all our funders, sponsors, and supporters for making the work of the Irish Arts Foundation possible.
https://www.irisharts.org.uk/funders.html
