'The Irish in Victorian Birmingham' - Professor Carl Chinn (MBE)

Social historian Professor Carl Chinn MBE will open the week-long St Patrick’s programme at Nortons with the illustrated talk ‘Making Our Mark - The Irish in Victorian Birmingham’ on Wednesday 11 March.

In the evening event, Professor Chinn will explore the effects that Irish migrants had on the city in the 19th century. As one English builder emphasised, the town could not have done without the Irishmen and women who built the houses, factories  and witkshops vital to Birmingham’s spectacular growth. And the Irish played a vital role in many other ways. Irish policemen led the fight in putting down the real peaky blinders. An Irishman started the Birmingham Post and another was instrumental in saving Aston Hall destruction, whilst names like Kelly and Kennedy became famed in Birminghan’s Bull Ring markets. This talk is a tribute to their impact and that of Irish in general.