Ireland has often been described as England’s blueprint for colonialism. Since the 12th century, the kings of England have claimed dominion over Ireland and the Irish have been resisting British dominion ever since. If Ireland was England’s blueprint for colonialism, then Ireland has also served as a blueprint for anti-colonial resistance.
On April 18, 2021, football was rocked to its very core. Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs suddenly announced their intention to form a new, breakaway continental competition in a move that would shock the world, giving birth to the deeply controversial and ill-fated European Super League.
Over the past year, I have taken a particular interest in the North Manchester slums as my own family lived there until the end of WW2. They survived on what little money my Great Grandfather and his eldest sons could bring home from their work at London Road Station (now known as Piccadilly Station). But who were those residing in these slums?
The history of the Jewish community in Manchester can be traced back to the 1780s, when a man named Jacob Nathan became the first known Jewish resident in the city. At this time, there were no synagogues in Manchester, but since the 1740s, groups of Jewish people who were travelling through the city would all come together to pray in a mysteriously named Synagogue Alley which appeared on a map of Manchester in 1741. In 1796, the first permanent synagogue in the city was opened inside a warehouse on Garden Street within the city centre.
After 22 months of enquiries a plaque was erected in December of 2021, officially recognised Ancoats as ‘Little Italy’, a “community integral to Manchester’s economic and cultural heritage since the late Nineteenth Century”. Manchester’s Italian community is described by Third generation Anglo-Italian Anthony Rea, as having provided an “exemplar for immigrant behaviour,” having “brought such character to this grim part of Manchester” with their “music, food and customs bringing so much colour to this area”.
