Irish. Here. Heard. Coventry
Every story has to start somewhere. Ours starts here.
Thanks to funding from Coventry City Council’s Made in Cov grant, we’re proud to launch the first Irish. Here. Heard. in Coventry.
Through theatre, storytelling and creativity, people of Irish and mixed-Irish heritage will come together to explore what it means to be Irish in Coventry — past, present and future.
Led by experienced Artistic Associate Kathi Leahy, our free weekly sessions will use drama, storytelling, movement, voice and conversation to uncover experiences, celebrate heritage and create space for voices that deserve to be heard.
Participants will explore:
- Irish identity, heritage and history
- What it means to be Irish in Coventry today
- Irish language and culture
- Storytelling and lived experience
- Movement, voice, devising and performance
But Coventry is only the beginning.
The stories gathered here will become the first chapter of a growing Irish. Here. Heard. journey — connecting Irish communities in different places and, ultimately, bringing those stories and learning together through a Seanchaí Symposium.
Coventry is where the journey begins.
Our first professional theatre production
'Inár gCroí go deo'
The Seanchaí Collective have commissioned a group of Coventry based creatives to work on the telling of our the story of Message to Margaret. A co-production with the Belgrade theatre, we are working towards showing in April 2028.
'Inár gCroí go deo' tells the story of the family of Margaret Keane, an Irish family based in Coventry who were denied an Irish only inscription on Margaret's headstone by a Church of England Consistory Court.
Our Irish. Here. Heard. Coventry members will be invited to join the prodcution as our community ensemble.
We are working with Keith Allott of Badshoes film on the feature length documentary of the story of the Margaret Keane, court case, the landmark victory, the impact on the Irish language in Britain and the campaign inspiring the Fontaines DC, the development of Irish. Here. Heard. and the co-production with The Belgrade Theatre.