We had a wonderful Samhain Tea Dance on the 25th October at the Queen's Hall, with dozens of witches, goblins, ghosties and spirits turning up - we think we even spotted a púca!

Dot’s mother was born in Dublin and her stepfather came from Achill. However, she hadn’t really engaged with her Irish heritage: “My parents were pub people and I wasn’t, really. There was always too much cooking and cleaning to be done at home,” she says.

“How can I help?” is a question we’re often asked.

Helena tells her story of how a supported housing tenancy with Leeds Irish Health and Homes helped transform her mental health and gave her the confidence to volunteer.

Sharon tells her story of how being supported by Leeds Irish Health and Homes has helped her find freedom in swimming.

Evelyn tells her story of how getting involved with Leeds Irish Health and Homes helped her through the loss of her husband.

Mary tells her story of how getting involved with Leeds Irish Health and Homes helped her discover her creative side - and a dose of confidence.

What a day we had for our Afternoon Tea Dance!

January 2023 saw the launch of our much-anticipated Cara group, funded with £250,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund. We caught up with Clare Mone, Cara Community Worker, for an update on how the group has evolved over the last five months.

The charity Fréa is reaching out to survivors of Mother and Baby Homes or County Homes.

What a wonderful day we had at Leeds Irish Centre for the LIHH St Patrick's Day party 2023!

Leeds Irish Health and Homes was proud to take part in Leeds’ St Patrick’s Day Parade once again on Sunday 12th March.

The ingredients for a great Christmas party: music, dancing, singing...and a bit of sparkle.

“They crossed the Irish Sea in their millions seeking a new life, and in the process reshaped Britain, building motorways and cities, filling churches, clubs and pubs, and stamping their identity on the landscape and the culture,” reads an article on Irish emigration to the UK published by The Guardian earlier this month.

We celebrated the return of our hugely popular Samhain Tea Dance with Leeds Comhaltas on 26th October 2022 - and what a celebration it was! It might have been three years since the last one, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Whether you love the outdoors or a cup of tea and a cake is more your thing, you’ll find something to enjoy at the weekly Leeds Irish Health and Homes men’s group. Peter Rollings, Community Support Worker at LIHH, tells us more.

In early 2022, a seed of an idea was planted: a garden project collaboration between Leeds Irish Health & Homes and Holy Rosary and St Anne’s Primary in Chapeltown.

When lockdown was announced in March 2020, the team at Leeds Irish Health and Homes knew they needed to act to keep our community in Leeds connected - and that the answer would have to involve technology.

On Saturday 11th June we were at long-last able to celebrate our milestone 25th (+1) anniversary in style when we held our party at Left Bank in Leeds. The event was our way of saying a massive thank you to all those people-service users, staff, volunteers, community members, donors, funders, fundraisers and supporters who have journeyed with us through our first quarter of a century.

LIHH celebrated its 25th year as an organisation in 2021 but unfortunately due to the pandemic we couldn’t mark the occasion in the way we wished.