Tommy Mcloughlin speaking about the recent Leeds Irish Centre refurb.
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00:00 Well I'm Tom McLaughlin and I am the manager or I was the manager some people still think I still
00:07 am. I've been the manager of the Irish Centre since 1975. I should have retired long ago but
00:14 retirement's only for old people. The Irish Centre has undergone recent change can you just tell us
00:22 what's been happening? Yes we had a good year last year, things have changed since the pandemic
00:27 obviously but we had a good year last year and I thought it was only fair to invest some of the
00:33 money back into the centre. So we have done our Omara suite which we have for parties and weddings
00:39 and etc but then we've done the David bar which is our members bar. It was only fair then to do that
00:45 but we have done the whole club itself because we did the Tower suite going back to
00:52 our 50th anniversary which obviously we didn't have because of the Covid but we still did
00:57 everything there to toilets and everything have all been revamped. So yes we're back to
01:02 back to normal ready for action. Must be really nice to see it all refreshed ready for
01:08 more fundraising, more parties. Yes indeed yeah fundraising in fact we just did a fundraiser there
01:14 the other week for the Macmillan nurses that's always go down very well and they come in next
01:18 Tuesday to collect the cheque of course and yeah we like to get involved with and it's important
01:25 for charity especially now at the moment children at Christmas you know especially we gave money to
01:31 schools last Christmas and they gave it to the people that they knew wanted the money and needed
01:39 the money and it's important you know you're in the locality you've got to look after
01:44 the people around you too. The Irish Centre has been quite an institution in Leeds for some time
01:51 can you just for those that don't know can you just tell us a little bit about that? Oh my goodness me
01:57 going back to 1968-69 I worked in Hull in construction and we used to pass up York
02:04 Road and we used to see this place coming up little by little by little and never in the
02:09 world I couldn't believe it the first time I came in here and I sat down I just couldn't believe
02:14 the place because I was involved with the old club itself you know I was a member there since 1963
02:21 and we used to go there every weekend and we were so I couldn't believe it when I saw the
02:26 place when I came in the first time I came in little did I know I was going to spend all my
02:31 once in 75 and now in 40 odd years you know 48 approaching 48 years.
02:42 And it hasn't stuck still it's constantly changing and evolving isn't it? Yes of course yeah you went
02:48 through hard times at the 70s you know when it was three day three day a week thing and you went
02:53 through that and you just kept going and we kept involving the people the local people as well as
02:59 our own members and I think at the end of the day you know that we did the right thing and we've
03:06 always put the people first and we've also tried to maintain a standard there was no point in trying
03:12 to put on anything at you know you have to have a standard keep your bar high and you know that's
03:18 what we did and yeah done all right. And keeping standards high the work that has been taking place
03:27 I mean it is beautiful you must you and the members must be really really happy. I think
03:32 I think the people are proud and you know they don't say too much we're not we're not that type
03:37 of people but I think deep down that they are proud of the place and still standing here since 1970
03:43 and I think and it will go on.