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The woman who's keeping Irish eyes smiling
There are 100,000 "forgotten Irish" living in the UK. Catherine Scott met a remarkable woman honoured for trying to help them and others less fortunate than herself.
Breege Walsh has one of those soft Irish accents you could listen to all day.
And the words she speaks are as gentle as they sound. But don't be mistaken – behind this unassuming exterior lies a determined woman fighting to help those worse off than herself, including the hundreds of forgotten Irish in Leeds.
Since retiring as a midwife 13 years ago, she has become a familiar face at the Simon Community "soup run" in Leeds where she volunteers to help the homeless between 10pm and midnight. Many may think that the inner city streets of Leeds are no place for a petite 73-year-old woman. But you would be wrong.
"I have never had any problems," says Breege.
"I won't have any swearing. That's the one thing I won't have. If they do swear, they all apologise."
It is clear that the quiet humility of this compassionate woman commands the upmost respect from some of the most downtrodden in society.
"We don't know where the shoe hurts the other fellow," says Breege, with typical Irish lyricism. "You don't know what these people may have been through and we don't look down on them because that's not right either."
But Breege does far more than just ladle out soup.
She is a shoulder to cry on and always has time to listen without judging.
"I take time to listen to their stories about how they have ended up in such a bad way. I listen to people but advice is never offered unless it's asked for."
It is for this and for her work with the Irish community in Leeds that Breege has just been awarded the first Forgotten Irish Award by the Irish Ambassador David Cooney.
Thousands of Irish people came England, like Breege, in the 1940s and '50s to find work so that they could send money home. Many found work, settled down and started families. Others found it not so easy. Due to the nature of their work they travelled a lot and then found it hard to put down roots.
These people have been dubbed the "forgotten Irish" and it is estimated that there are 100,000 living in Britain today in varying levels of need ranging from homelessness and deprivation to social exclusion or simply crippling loneliness.
Breege Walsh came to England from Mayo in 1952, aged 17. The second oldest of nine children, she was the first to leave home and emigrate.
"I was excited," remembers Breege, who had been accepted on to the nursing course at St Andrew's Hospital in London.
"I never really thought about leaving home or being homesick. At that age I couldn't look beyond the end of my nose."
Out of the 6.18.4d a month she was paid, she sent 2 home. When she qualified, she sent home 5 a month, because her wages doubled.
"People used to say: 'It must be hard being on the wards all day long' and I never thought it was hard, you know. I thought it was a life of luxury and we had our own bedroom, we had clean linen every week and cleaners cleaned the bedrooms. We were treated like royalty."
Breege moved to Leeds in 1956 to work as a midwife at St Mary's Hospital.
"I saw all sorts of people, including many immigrants who couldn't speak English. I used to think, 'Poor things' being in a strange country being unable to speak
the language."
After moving to Leeds, Breege would feel quite at home as the majority of Irish immigrants to the city were from County Mayo. "I never really thought about it. Being part of an Irish community is like the air you breathe, you never really think about it."
She married an Irishman and they had two children, who did Irish dancing and were active members of the local Catholic church.
Her faith is an important part of Breege's life and has given her the strength to see the good in every one.
"I come from a strong, loving and close family. We never went to bed without saying the family rosary together. Before we went to school, we blessed ourselves and said our prayers to the guardian angel on the way out, so we were covered for the day."
She retired as a district nursing sister in 1995 and since then has spent her life helping others, whether collecting blankets or making soup for the homeless, or helping at St Vincent de Paul and the Leeds Irish Health and Homes (LIHH).
It was Ant Hanlon, who runs LIHH, who nominated Breege for the award.
"She is a woman of great drive and a woman of great humility, she treats everyone with respect," says Ant, whose parents emigrated to Leeds from Ireland in the 1950s. He was involved in setting up the project in 1996 when it was recognised that there were a large number of the Irish community in need of help. Some were homeless with alcohol problems and others were living in deplorable conditions.
"A lot of people don't realise the size of the Irish community in Leeds and just how long it's been here. A lot of people who came over in the '40s and '50s didn't manage to settle down and as a result are now elderly and isolated. Some are living in terrible conditions. What we try to do is give them somewhere decent to live and then give them back the sense of community they have lost."
More than half of the Irish population in Leeds is over 50, 25 per cent are over 65 and 65 per cent of those are living alone.
The organisation runs weekly get-togethers every Friday for the elderly Irish as well as having outreach workers in the community. They also organise holidays, including a recent trip back to Ireland and in 2006 put together an exhibition and book Risin Bn (Gaelic for White Rose) by Corinne Silva. It charts the emigration and experiences of the Irish community in Leeds.
From a staff of one helping eight people, they now have a staff of 20, plus 27 volunteers helping about 200 elderly Irish men and women for whom they are a lifeline. The Irish government supports some of the work that LIHH does, other money comes from grants and statutory bodies who recognise the good work they do.
"The Irish are very proud and won't take help from anyone," explains Ant.
"As they get older, they look more towards their Irish heritage and are looking for some sort of community. We can act as a link with other organisations and networks to get them back on their feet and get back some self- respect. It can be as simple as getting them an Irish newspaper or show them how to tune into Irish radio."
Breege believes that projects like LIHH are really helping to make a difference to the lives of those forgotten Irish, to whom Ireland owes a debt of gratitude.
"Some people left Ireland when they were 15. It's sad that they would sleep in a doorway rather than go back to their homes. Many have drink problems and some of them even consider taking their own lives. Thanks to people like Ant Hanlon and the support workers at Leeds Irish Health and Homes they have their lives back together."
It is also thanks to volunteers like Breege Walsh, who give their time to help others less fortunate than themselves.
For more information, visit www.lihh.co.uk
www.roisinban.com
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