By Annie Driver
The first screening of Birmingham Irish I Am was shown at the Mockingbird Cinema last week ahead of its release this week.
The hour-long BBC programme covers the experiences of the Irish diaspora in Birmingham from 1950s to the present day.
The Father Teds musician Angela Moran presents the documentary and the audience journey with her through the history of the Irish in Birmingham as she reflects on her own grandparents’ arrival to Birmingham in the ‘50s.
The documentary sheds light on the horror and aftermath of the Birmingham Pub Bombings which cast a dark shadow over the city and brings to our attention the discrimination the Irish community were subjected to.
She also reflects on her experience growing up in the ‘90s when the St. Patrick’s Parade began again in 1996 and the Irish were once again fashionable in Birmingham.
Angela also considers her dual identity as a third-generation Irish woman and how she found comfort in the words of the song Plastic written by Birmingham-Irish musician Paul O’Brien which is where the line Birmingham Irish I Am derives from.
The documentary is the first of the second series of A Very British History which explores the experiences of minority communities across the UK.
