Exploring Little Ireland (during the Manchester Irish Festival) FREE tour

Can you believe that when Manchester triggered the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century those philanthropic merchants and factory owners hired their workers from Ireland, as they were cheaper and would accept lower wages than the Manchester locals?

Yes, the Irish were ripped off and they lived in the worst houses – in Little Ireland, the area around Oxford Road station.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

We will celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the Irish Festival by unearthing the best stories of Little Ireland, recalling Auntie's Bar, stopping off at George Orwell's doss house (well, the site of), searching for a whiff of the Waxie’s Dargle and maybe even enjoying a glass of a black Irish drink with a creamy head.