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Irish people in Great Britain

Irish people in Great Britain or British Irish are immigrants from the island of Ireland living in Great Britain as well as their British-born descendants.

Irish migration to Great Britain has occurred from the earliest recorded history to the present. There has been a continuous movement of people between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain due to their proximity. This tide has ebbed and flowed in response to politics, economics and social conditions of both places.

Today, millions of residents of Great Britain are either from Ireland or are entitled to an Irish passport due to having a parent or grandparent who was born in Ireland. It is estimated that as many as six million people living in the UK have at least one Irish grandparent (around 10% of the UK population).

The Irish diaspora (Diaspóra na nGael) refers to Irish people and their descendants who live outside Ireland. This article refers to those who reside in Great Britain, the largest island and principal territory of the United Kingdom.

Medieval
After the End of Roman rule in Britain, significant Irish settlement of western Britain took place.

The Déisi recorded as having founded the Gwynedd (Anglesea) and Dyfed (Pembrokeshire) colonies, with contemporary Ogham inscriptions identifying the genealogies of the colonists, and later echoed in the 8th century, Old Irish work, The Expulsion of the Déisi.

Similarly, the traditional view is that Gaelic language and culture was brought to Scotland, probably in the 4th century, by settlers from Ireland, who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast. This is based mostly on medieval writings from the 9th and 10th centuries. However, recently some archeologists have argued against this view, saying that there is no archeological or placename evidence for a migration or a takeover by a small group of elites. Due to the growth of Dál Riata, in both size and influence, Scotland became almost wholly Gaelic-speaking. However, in the Lowlands – which had been  the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, the Northumbrian language remained dominant, and formed the basis of the Scots language. While Scots gradually became more and more widespread, Gaelic remained the dominant language of the Highlands into the 19th century.

Before and during the Gregorian mission of 596 AD, Irish Christians such as Columba (521–97), Buriana, Diuma, Ceollach, Saint Machar, Saint Cathan, Saint Blane, Jaruman, Wyllow, Kessog, St Govan, Donnán of Eigg, Foillan and Saint Fursey began the conversion of the English and Pictish peoples. Modwenna and others were significant in the following century.

Some English monarchs, such as Oswiu of Northumbria (c. 612 – 15 February 670), Aldfrith (died 704 or 705) and Harold Godwinson (died 1066) were either raised in or sought refuge in Ireland, as did Welsh rulers such as Gruffudd ap Cynan. Alfred the Great may have spent some of his childhood in Ireland.

In the year 902 Norsemen who had been forced out of Ireland were given permission by the English to settle in Wirral, in the north west of England. An Irish historical record known as "The Three Fragments" refers to a distinct group of settlers living among these Vikings as "Irishmen". Further evidence of this Irish migration to Wirral comes from the name of the village of Irby in Wirral, which means "settlement of the Irish", and St Bridget's church, which is known to have been founded by "Vikings from Ireland". The Irish of the 10th century may have settled as far afield as Northumbria and Lincolnshire, as place names such as Irby upon Humber, Ireleth and Irton mention the Irish as an ethnic group, while Goidelic personal names appear in some northern English place-names, including Duggleby, Fixby and Melmerby, and in a Viking-age Runic inscription from County Durham.

The island of Ireland was itself claimed as an Ecclesiastical fief, via the forged, mid 8th century, Donation of Constantine, with the feudal Lordship of Ireland later leased to Henry II of England and his heirs, by Pope Alexander III's, 1171 grant, resulting in the presence and settlement of Irish traders and seamen in English and Welsh ports, as well as the establishment of The Pale, on the island, the Irish settlers being subject to a poll tax, from 1440; in 1542, Henry VIII, following his excommunication, would have the Irish Parliament create the Kingdom, with himself elected as King. Subsequently through offering English titles, and ecclesiastical lands, in a surrender and regrant process, would offer Irish clan chiefs, property and political power, in England, as well as Ireland. In 1555, Pope Paul IV, would confirm the existence of the Irish Kingdom, and that it was to be held in personal union with the Kingdom of England, via a Papal bull. A personal Union that would later include the Kingdom of Scotland, and between 1707 and 1800, the politically united Kingdom of Great Britain. The Irish Parliament and Kingdom would be politically united with Great Britain as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, between 1801 and 1922, through the Acts of Union 1800. Today, Ireland is divided between the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, a constituent of the United Kingdom.

Irish people who made Britain their home in the later medieval era included Aoife MacMurrough, Princess of Leinster (1145–88), the poet Muireadhach Albanach (fl. 1213), the lawyer William of Drogheada (died 1245), Máel Muire Ó Lachtáin (died 1249), Malachias Hibernicus (fl. 1279–1300), Gilbert Ó Tigernaig (died 1323), Diarmait MacCairbre (executed 1490) and Germyn Lynch (fl. 1441–1483), all of whom made successful lives in the various kingdoms of Britain.

16th to 18th centuries
Historically, Irish immigrants to the United Kingdom in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were considered over-represented amongst those appearing in court. However, research suggests that policing strategy may have put immigrants at a disadvantage by targeting only the most public forms of crime, while locals were more likely able to engage in the types of crimes that could be conducted behind locked doors. An analysis of historical courtroom records suggests that despite higher rates of arrest, immigrants were not systematically disadvantaged by the British court system in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Some notable people born in Ireland who settled in Great Britain between the 16th and 19th centuries:

 * Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde, died 1635
 * Robert Boyle, FRS, died 1691
 * Laetitia Pilkington, died 1750
 * Richard Brinsley Sheridan
 * George Monro (British Army officer), 1700–57
 * Patrick Brontë, 1777–1861
 * Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * Thomas Moore, died 1852
 * Bram Stoker, author of Dracula
 * Oliver Goldsmith, author of The Deserted Village
 * Edmund Burke, politician, reformer, writer
 * Mary Burns
 * Robert Tressell, author of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

19th century
The most significant exodus followed the worst of a series of potato crop failures in the 1840s – the Great Irish Famine. It is estimated that more than one million people died and almost the same again emigrated. A further wave of emigration to England also took place between the 1930s and 1960s by Irish escaping poor economic conditions following the establishment of the Irish Free State. This was furthered by the severe labour shortage in Britain during the mid-20th century, which depended largely on Irish immigrants to work in the areas of construction and domestic labour. The extent of the Irish contribution to Britain's construction industry in the 20th century may be gauged from Sir William MacAlpine's 1998 assertion that the contribution of the Irish to the success of his industry had been "immeasurable". This statement by a member of the British upper class illustrates how Irish migrant labour was regularly employed to discipline and weaken organised English labour unions at the same time as disparaging the contribution of the latter to the development of their own nation. Of this process the German-born philosopher Karl Marx wrote in 1870:

"'Ireland constantly sends her own surplus to the English labour market, and thus forces down wages and lowers the material and moral position of the English working class... This antagonism is the secret of the impotence of the English working class, despite its organisation. It is the secret by which the capitalist class maintains its power. And the latter is quite aware of this.'"

Ireland's population fell from more than 8 million to just 6.5 million between 1841 and 1851. A century later it had dropped to 4.3 million. By the late 19th century, emigration was heaviest from Ireland's most rural southern and western counties. Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary and Limerick alone provided nearly half of Ireland's emigrants. Some of this movement was temporary, made up of seasonal harvest labourers working in Britain and returning home for winter and spring.

Some notable people born in Ireland who settled in Great Britain in the 19th century:

 * Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

20th to 21st centuries
By the mid-1930s, Great Britain was the choice of many who had to leave Ireland. Britain's wartime economy (1939–45) and post-war boom attracted many Irish people to expanding cities and towns such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Luton. Prior to the 2000s financial crisis, ongoing sectarian violence and its economic aftermath was another major factor for immigration.

According to the UK 2001 Census, white Irish-born residents make up 1.2% of those living in England and Wales. In 1997, the Irish Government in its White Paper on Foreign Policy claimed that there were around two million Irish citizens living in Britain. The 2001 Census also showed that Irish people are more likely to be employed in managerial or professional occupations than those classed as "White British".

As a result of the Irish financial crisis, emigration from Ireland rose significantly. Data published in June 2011 showed that Irish emigration to Britain had risen by 25 per cent to 13,920 in 2010.

Some notable people born in Ireland who settled in Great Britain between the 20th and 21st centuries include:

Irish broadcasters
BBC broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan moved to Buckinghamshire, England in 1969, acquiring British citizenship and a knighthood in 2005, and remained resident in the UK until his death in 2016. Comedians Ed Byrne and Dara Ó Briain have relocated to Britain from Ireland, and regularly feature on British television.

Black and Asian communities
Since the 1970s some UK organisations, sections of media, and government departments have defined Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) in anti-racist efforts and general demography. There are several notable Irish migrants to Great Britain who are people of colour, or who might otherwise be considered part of BAME communities. This includes emigrants from Ireland from the black Irish community, as well as Asian Irish people.

Irish musician and singer Phil Lynott settled in Surrey, England after the commercial success of his Dublin-formed band Thin Lizzy. Lynott, who died in 1986, was mixed raced and had British Guianan ancestry. Irish actor Christopher Simpson was moved to London, England as child in 1981. Simpson is of Irish and Rwandan descent.

Irish footballer Darren Randolph, who has spoken of his experiences growing up black in Ireland, moved to Britain permanently after joining London team Charlton Athletic F.C. in 2003, and has since remained in English football. Model and actress Layla Flaherty relocated to Liverpool, England in 2006. Flaherty, who has Irish and African American heritage, has appeared in UK-based E4 productions, such as Desperate Scousewives. Also relocating to England in 2006, Ethiopian-Irish actress Ruth Negga has appeared in films, as well as RTÉ and BBC series. In 2018, Negga, who has been Academy Award-nominated, was featured in the Evening Standard's Progress 1000 list, which claims to chart the careers of London's most influential people. Irish presenter Liz Bonnin has also relocated to London. Bonnin, who has Indian, Portuguese, and French-Martiniquan heritage moved to Britain after establishing a science-based broadcasting career with the BBC since 2009.

In 2020, Irish women's football player Rianna Jarrett relocated to Brighton, England. Jarrett, whose father is Jamaican, made the move to Britain after joining Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C.

Irish footballers
Notable Irish footballers, who were born or raised in Ireland, began moving as young adults to teams based in Great Britain since the post-World War II period. As the sport became more commercially successful, wealthy English clubs in particular pursued Irish talent, which was often seen as detrimental to the game's development in Ireland.

Moving from Northern Ireland between 1949 and 1963, players such as Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy McIlroy, Billy Bingham, Terry Neill, George Best, Pat Jennings and later, migrating between 1971 and 1981; Sammy McIlroy, Mal Donaghy, Norman Whiteside, David McCreery, Nigel Worthington, Jimmy Nicholl and Martin O'Neill won titles as players, or managers, in England and Scotland's top competitions.

Moving to Britain from the Republic of Ireland during the 1950s and 60s, Tony Dunne, Noel Cantwell, Johnny Giles, and later, in the 1970s and 80s, Liam Brady, Packie Bonner, Ronnie Whelan, Frank Stapleton, David O'Leary and Steve Staunton all won major honours in the Scottish or English top-flights.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, players also from the Republic, such as John O'Shea, Stephen Carr, Steve Finnan, Denis Irwin, Niall Quinn, Roy Keane, Shay Given, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff, moved to enjoy decades-long careers in English and Scottish football, each winning at least one top-flight competition. In the same era, players who moved from Northern Ireland to Britain, winning competitions in the Scottish and English top-tiers, included Steven Davis, David Healy, Jonny Evans, Keith Gillespie, Roy Carroll, Gerry Taggart, Kyle Lafferty and Neil Lennon.

Seasonal workers
Prior to the 19th century, much of Irish migration of the modern period had been large-scale movement of temporary labourers to Britain. These seasonal workers or labourers, known as Spalpeens and Tatie Hookers, were often based on extended family ties, and would involve up to half a year working on farms or in agricultural industry. Up until as late as the 1970s, earnings from this type of employment helped sustain communities in Western Ireland.

Great Famine refugees
The Great Famine in 1845 triggered a mass exodus from Ireland, with significant numbers of Irish migrants fleeing to Britain to escape severe poverty and starvation.

Irish in England
In 2001, there were 674,786 people in England (1.4 per cent of the population) who had been born in Ireland. This is the greatest concentration of Irish-born—as distinct from persons of Irish ancestry—abroad anywhere in the world and was equivalent to 12.1% of the population of the island of Ireland (5.6 million) in 2001.

Barrow-in-Furness
During the Great Famine of the 19th century, Barrow-in-Furness was seen as a desirable location that many Irish (along with Scottish and Cornish) fled to. This was in part due to ease of access to reach the town's port from Ireland (particularly from Ulster), and secondly because it was a booming town as a result of the Industrial Revolution with guaranteed work, particularly in the emerging steelworks and shipbuilding industries in the town. At its peak, it was estimated that somewhere between 7-11% of Barrow's population were Irish or Scottish. As a result of this, to this day a huge number of Barrow's population are of Irish descent.

Birmingham
Birmingham has a large Irish community, dating back to the Industrial Revolution, it is estimated that Birmingham has the largest Irish population per capita in Britain. Digbeth is the traditional Irish area in Birmingham. During the 1950s Sparkhill, Sparkbrook, Aston, and Nechells were the main Irish areas. Today many Irish people live in areas such as Hall Green and Erdington. Birmingham has the UK's largest St Patricks Day's Parade (and the world's third biggest) and Britain's only Irish Quarter, with many traditional Irish pubs and the Birmingham Irish centre. Irish people have always moved to Birmingham for work especially for the construction, factory and industrial work which the city had to offer. Many Irish people moved to Birmingham to build canals, roads and railways in the city's industrial past. St Chad's Cathedral is one of only two of the minor Basilicas in the UK. It is very important as the first Catholic church built in Britain after the English Reformation, and was designed by the architect Augustus Pugin.

Community relations for the Irish in Birmingham were complicated by the pub bombings of November 1974. At inquests into the deaths of the 21 victims, "Witness O" named the men responsible as Seamus McLoughlin, Mick Murray, Michael Hayes and James Gavin. He said he had been given permission to reveal the names by the current head of the IRA in Dublin. There were very limited physical attacks on Irish people in the aftermath of the bombings. In November 2018, Birmingham's Irish Association revealed a memorial to those killed outside Birmingham New Street Station.

Bolton
A large number settled here in the 1950s as work was scarce at home, especially in the South. Many found work in the mills and factories and encouraged other family members to come over as there were jobs waiting for them.

Bradford
Bradford largely expanded into the city it is today during the 19th century, due to jobs in the newly built textile mills attracting many immigrants in dire need of work. The population increase, in fact, saw Bradford go from a small town of 6,000 in 1801, to 103,000 by 1851 according to records taken. Many of these newly arriving people were Irish escaping the Great Famine, and could easily take advantage of all the work Bradford had on offer due to the ease to reach there from Ireland. J. B. Hammond once commented on this, saying of the distance from Ireland to Yorkshire, "It was easier to reach Yorkshire from Ireland than from Norfolk or Dorset... Labourers who were sent to Lancashire were taken to London, put on a boat of Pickfords...carried to Manchester in four or five days at a cost of fourteen shillings. But an Irishman could cross to Liverpool in fourteen hours for two shillings and sixpence". In 1851, records showed that Bradford had the highest proportion of Irish-born people in Yorkshire at the time. In Donald M. MacRaid's book Irish Migration in Modern Britain, he comments on research showing that a large number of Bradford's Irish originally came from County Mayo, County Sligo, County Dublin, and County Laois, with records also suggesting that there was a common migration trail at the time from County Roscommon to Bradford. Many of the Irish from Mayo and Sligo originated from a rural background, and at first struggled to adapt to urban life in Bradford. To this day, many residents of Bradford and the surrounding area are of Irish descent.

There was an Irish Diaspora Research Unit at the University of Bradford in the early 21st Century under Dr. Patrick O'Sullivan, but the Unit did not continue after he moved to New York University.

Braintree, Essex
In the 1950s many thousands of Irish migrated to Braintree in Essex to meet the demands of the labour shortage primarily in the Courtauld's textile mills, both in Braintree and nearby Halstead. They also helped meet the need for labour both in Critall's main Braintree factory.

Coventry
Coventry had a large influx of Irish from around the middle of the 20th century, when the city's motor industry was booming. To this day, Coventry remains one of the cities in the UK with a higher Irish population, and retains strong Irish links. The city council put the town's Irish population at 2.3% in 2009, higher than the UK national average of 1%, and additionally the Coventry Irish Society estimated that around 10% of the city's population are of Irish descent.

Gateshead
During the 19th century, many of the towns in County Durham (the county Gateshead historically belongs to), which before that point had mostly been a rural county, began to take advantage of emerging new technology and discovered resources in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. This not only changed the face of the county, urbanizing much of it, but also led to expansion on a massive scale. People from all over the United Kingdom, ranging from the south of England to Ireland, moved to the area to take advantage of the large amount of work that these industries brought in roles such as coal mining and shipbuilding. As in many other instances around this time, it was the Great Famine which caused many from Ireland in particular to be drawn to jobs in the County Durham area, and make the move. A further advantage was that the county was quite straightforward to reach from Ireland, due to easy access by rail to there from the western port of Whitehaven, itself easily accessible by ferry from Ireland itself (in particular, Ulster). Gateshead in particular was one of the towns that changed most significantly due to the events of Industrial Revolution, but moreover took in one of the largest numbers of Irish of all the County Durham towns. In 1871, the town was recorded as having the densest number of Irish-born in County Durham, at 6.7%, and a year later it was recorded that 1 in 4 people in the town were Irish. The town also went through a huge population increase, rising by approximately 100,000 people over the course of the 19th century which the Irish undeniably contributed to. To this day, many people in the town are of Irish descent.

Halifax
Similarly to Bradford, Halifax was a desirable location for Irish escaping the Great Famine due to ease of access to reach, and the fact that its growth into an industrial boomtown over the 19th century coincided with the time of the famine. Many of the jobs on offer in Halifax were in newly opened cotton spinning mills, opened as a result of taking advantage of technological innovation in the then emerging textile industry. There were said to be as many as 24 mills in the town by 1850. The Irish contributed to its population growth from around 9,000 in 1800, to 25,000 by the middle of the century. In 1872, records showed that the Irish numbered "from a sixth to an eighth of the population" in Halifax, with it also being noted that "the political strength of the Irish people in Halifax is considerable". Irish heritage still lives on in Halifax through the likes of the town's football team, Halifax Irish F.C.

Heywood
As Heywood developed into a mill town during the Industrial Revolution, this brought a large number of new residents to the town, including many Irish escaping the Great Famine. Additionally, many Irish migrants took up jobs in the area working as navvies on the local railway, a fact that still lives on in the town's legacy as some say that these navvies may have been the influence behind Heywood's nickname, Monkey Town.

Jarrow
Also situated in County Durham, the story behind why many Irish moved to Jarrow is similar to that of Gateshead. Shipbuilding, in particular, drew many of them to Jarrow. The town to this day is still sometimes nicknamed Little Ireland, and has a large Catholic community, as a result of the sheer number of Irish who moved there.

Keighley
During the Industrial Revolution, Keighley flourished in the textile and weaving industries, which encouraged many Irish fleeing the Great Famine and looking for work to move there. This resulted in a significant Irish community, and to this day the town still has a large number of inhabitants of Irish descent. The Irish redefined aspects of Keighley as a town significantly. It was once commented that the (then fairly new) Irish community in Keighley "contributed more to the Home-Rule than [in] either of the populous towns of Glasgow or Liverpool". The influence of the Irish also led to there being a large Catholic community in Keighley, which has lived on in both Catholic churches and schools that exist in the town today.

Leeds
There is an Irish community in Leeds, although it is generally smaller than in other large cities in Britain. The Leeds Irish Centre is on York Road on the east side of the city. The nearby area of East End Park is the area most associated with Leeds's Irish community. In the years after the Famine, 3.3% of Leeds's population was Irish-born. There was a particular concentration of migrants from the Irish county of Mayo. A book on the subject of migration from Ireland to Leeds in the 20th century was published in 2010: Taking The Boat: The Irish in Leeds, 1931-81.

Liverpool
Liverpool is widely known for having the strongest Irish heritage of any UK city - perhaps alongside Glasgow. This originates from the city's port being close to Ireland, which made it easy to reach for all those escaping the Great Famine between 1845 and 1849. More than 20% of Liverpool's population was Irish by 1851. Up to 2 million Irish people travelled to Liverpool within 10 years during this time, though many subsequently departed for the United States.

It is also twinned with Dublin. Three of Liverpool's most famous natives, the Beatles, had some Irish ancestry: John Lennon's great-grandparents on his father's side were Irish immigrants from County Down, Paul McCartney had an Irish grandfather and great-grandfather, and George Harrison had Irish blood through his mother.

Liverpool's Irish heritage is further highlighted by it being the only English city to have a significant Orange Order membership, as well as having a large Irish Catholic majority and being the most Catholic city in the UK. It remains the only UK city to elect—and continuously re-elect—an Irish nationalist politician (T. P. O'Connor) and hosts one of the UK's largest St Patrick's Day parades. The city has been at odds with right-wing politicians since the 1970s, with a city council that was previously dominated by the right-wing Conservative Party becoming more left-wing, a relationship that was exacerbated further during the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose Conservative government planned to starve the area of resources. It has also been regarded as a notably European city, and often identifies more with Ireland and the European Union than the UK; this intensified in the 1980s during the UK media's mishandling of the Hillsborough disaster, which saw lies being spread about dead Liverpudlians by tabloids such as The Sun, and it is not uncommon to hear a Liverpudlian refer to themselves as "Scouse, not English". Pro-EU sentiment increased again in 2008, when the EU designated Liverpool as a "Capital of Culture" and helped it to regenerate by pouring over €1 billion into the economy while the Conservative UK government continued to cut its funding. The Irish have also come to be a staple of Liverpool's surrounding areas; places such as Birkenhead, Bootle, Crosby, Halewood, Huyton, Kirkby, Litherland, Runcorn, St Helens and Wallasey have many ethnically Irish residents and have also inherited the Liverpool accent.

Between Liverpool FC and Everton FC, the city's two biggest football teams, Everton FC is often cited as the more Irish of the two; some Liverpool FC fans have rejected this view.

London Irish

The term "London Irish" relates to people born in London of Irish descent. London has Great Britain's biggest Irish population and there was a particularly big community in the (affectionately known) "County Kilburn" area of northwest London. With urban gentrification and higher housing costs, many of London's working-class Irish-Catholic community have moved further out from Kilburn to Cricklewood.

Another large Irish community was in the Archway area, where many Irish navvies came to work in building railways and roads from the 1830s onwards. The community grew larger throughout the Famine years and then again after the Second World War when the Whittington Hospital in Archway recruited nurses from Ireland. This area became associated with Irish political activism with the election of Michael O'Halloran as MP for Islington North in 1969. O'Halloran referred to his supporters as "the Irish mafia". In 2017, a new public space outside Archway underground station was named Navigator Square after the Irish navvies.

The Camden Town area of London, as well as Shepherd's Bush, were also known for their large Irish communities. The Irish Cultural Centre is located in Hammersmith, West London. Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing is home to a large Irish community and contains Tir Chonaill Park, home to the Tír Chonaill Gaels Gaelic Football club.

Manchester
Manchester has strong and long established Irish connections. The earliest large influx of migrants arrived sometime around 1798 according to Peter Ewart, a Manchester cotton manufacturer. It has been estimated that around 35% of Manchester's current population has Irish ancestry, although no reliable data exists to evidence this. In November 2012 whilst addressing an audience at the University of Manchester, Michael D. Higgins suggested "the Irish connection in Manchester is no less evident than in Liverpool. And where Liverpool was a gateway for so many Irish people, Manchester tended to be for many the end of the journey, a home".

When Manchester's population grew in the early 1800s due to it becoming the World's first industrial city the Irish born in Manchester were said to represent over 15% of the population. The Irish were said to have lived in terrible conditions and were described by Friedrich Engels in his 1845 book The Condition of the Working Class in England. Areas concentrated with high levels of Irish were known as Little Ireland around Oxford Road and later Ancoats and Hulme. Manchester was a breeding ground for Irish Republicanism, supporters known as Fenians, and when three Irish men were hanged accused of murder they became figureheads for Irish nationalism in Britain, Ireland and America and were known as the Manchester Martyrs. The reports of these terrible conditions sparked pioneering social changes in Manchester in the 1840s with the city often at the forefront of social reform in Britain.

Manchester was targeted by the IRA in the 1996 Manchester bombing in what was described as the biggest bomb on British soil since World War II. Manchester was targeted in part because security in London was so rigid due to parades in London for the Queen's Trooping of the Colour. However, it was telling that the terrorists warned of the exact location beforehand to save human lives in a city with a rich history of Irish migration, balancing a fine line of shocking Britain and alienating supporters back home. On 20 June 1996, the IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing, and stated that it "sincerely regretted" causing injury to civilians. This stood in sharp contrast to their earlier 1993 bombing of nearby Warrington which killed two English children aged 3 and 12, which the IRA blamed on "the British authorities" for not being able to respond to its imprecise warning that did not even specify Warrington as the target.

The city's residents of Irish heritage have been influential in the music industry. All four members of the Smiths had Irish roots, as do the Gallagher brothers of the band Oasis. Gary Mounfield (Mani), bass player of the Stone Roses had an Irish mother. Manchester holds an annual Irish Festival each March, including one of the UK's largest St Patrick's Day parades. Cheetham is home to the Irish World Heritage Centre.

Due to its connections with the local Irish Catholic population, Manchester United was almost named Manchester Celtic in 1902 and is the most supported football club in Ireland.

Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough during the latter half of the 19th century had the second highest percentage of Irish born migrants in England after Liverpool. In terms of the overall population, 15.6% of Middlesbrough's inhabitants were Irish born in 1861 and 1 in 5 adults (9.2%) were Irish born in the 1871 census. During the late 19th century, Middlesbrough became a world leader in the Steel and Iron industry and with the rapid growth of the town, the expanse of newly opened blast furnaces attracted many workers and their families to the Middlesbrough area. Unlike many other towns in England at the time, Middlesbrough showed no signs of sectarianism or segregation within the various communities that lived alongside each other, there were no "Irish quarters" and the many Irish that settled in Middlesbrough integrated into their adopted home. This was most likely as a result of the town's infancy, it was essentially a migrant town. Although the number of Irish born currently residing in Middlesbrough may not be as substantial as it once was, Middlesbrough retains a strong Irish connection and heritage through the ancestry of many residents.

Sunderland
Sunderland was another place in County Durham that many Irish escaping the famine saw as desirable. Once dubbed "the largest shipbuilding town in the world", the city largely expanded into what it is today as a result of the number of people this work, and the demand for manual labour in other local jobs such as coal mining and chemical works, encouraged to move there. The Irish were one of the most significant groups who took advantage of the demand for labour and moved there, and consequently many people in Sunderland today have Irish heritage.

Peter O'Toole's father was a labourer in Sunderland for many years, which is why Peter O'Toole supported Sunderland A.F.C.

The city also celebrates St. Patrick's Day.

Whitehaven
Due to its port and close proximity to Ireland, similarly to Liverpool, Whitehaven was an easy way of accessing England for the Irish, especially when escaping the Great Famine of the 19th century. Thousands passed through the town to move on to work for themselves elsewhere in England, such as the aforementioned County Durham, however many also stayed in the area and many people in the town still have Irish heritage today.

Widnes
Widnes became a boom town during the Industrial Revolution, having a successful chemical industry brought on by a factory opened in the town in 1847, which led to many Irish workers (among others from Wales, Poland and Lithuania) moving there for work. Further making Widnes advantageous for the Irish to move to was its close proximity to Liverpool. Since then, a large number of overspill from the neighbouring city of Liverpool have brought many more people of Irish descent to Widnes too, particularly in areas at the west end of the town such as Ditton and Hough Green, where overspill are still moved.

Wigan
Wigan, being almost equal distance from Liverpool and Manchester received high immigration rates of Irish people in the 1800s. Wigan's population doubled from 30,000 in 1841 to 60,000 in 1851 with the immigration of Irish to the town the biggest factor. The Irish mainly settled in the central areas of the town such as Scholes and Ince with the area around Belle Green Lane referred to as Irishtown. St Patrick's church in Scholes was built in 1847 on the back of huge swathes of Irish immigration.

The local amateur rugby league club Wigan St Patricks has the Irish shamrock on the club badge with green and black being the club colours.

The Wigan accent has even been affected by the great number of Irish coming to the town. The local word "moidered", known elsewhere as "mithered", is said to have derived from pronouncing the word mithered in an Irish accent.

Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton prospered during the Industrial Revolution, particularly having successful iron and locomotive industries, which attracted many Irish escaping the Great Famine. As well as this, Wolverhampton had a longstanding Roman Catholic community from as early as the 18th century, leading to the city sometimes being nicknamed "Little Rome", which began to attract Irish to the city from an early stage.

Irish in Scotland
There are long standing migration links between Scotland and the Province of Ulster, especially between County Donegal, County Antrim and County Down with the west coast of Scotland. Considering the Dal Riada kingdoms and the gaelicisation of Scotland in the early Middle Ages, it is difficult to determine how many Scots have genetic ancestry from Ireland historically or how many were Picts who adopted Irish lifestyles, although the general consensus is that both happened as Pictish culture vanished by the 11th century. In 2001, around 55,000 people in Scotland (1.1 per cent of the Scottish population) had been born in Ireland, while people of Irish (either Protestant or Catholic) ancestry make up 20% of the Scottish population. Scotland has a greater number of persons born in Northern Ireland and County Donegal (0.66 per cent) than people who were born in the rest of Ireland (0.43%). Despite having lower than average numbers of Irish people resident, the Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge is more than 50% Catholic. The town is populated by the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth generation children of Irish immigrants, especially immigrants from County Donegal. In 2006 more than 28% of adults in Coatbridge had surnames with Irish origins. Coatbridge holds the largest St. Patrick's Day Festival in Scotland.

Famous Scots of Irish-Catholic ancestry include actors Sean Connery, Brian Cox and Gerard Butler; comedians Billy Connolly and Frankie Boyle; singers Susan Boyle, Gerry Rafferty, Fran Healy and David Byrne; historians Tom Devine and Michael Lynch; footballers like Jimmy McGrory and Ray Houghton; politicians like James Connolly (the trade unionist and Easter Rising leader), Jim Murphy (former British Shadow Defence Secretary), and socialist political figure Tommy Sheridan; television presenter Lorraine Kelly; businessmen like Thomas Lipton; and writers Arthur Conan Doyle, A. J. Cronin, John Byrne and Andrew O'Hagan.

Support for particular football teams often reflects Catholic or Protestant heritage. Celtic are overwhelmingly, though not exclusively, supported by people from a Catholic background. Hibernian and Dundee United were formed as clubs representing Irish Catholics, however there is little vestige of these founding values today. Teams such as Dundee (though founded before Dundee United on entirely secular grounds), Heart of Midlothian and Lanarkshire teams such as Motherwell and Airdrie are contentiously perceived by some as Protestant clubs. Rangers are seen as having retained a Protestant identity, despite signing a number of Catholic players since the 1980s.

Today a very small minority of the Irish Catholic community in Scotland take part in Irish republican marches (mainly in Strathclyde), though these marches do not have exclusively Catholics in attendance, with many Protestants and others of various faiths or none involved, and the Orange Order has a large membership in Scotland, predominantly in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. As well as Scotland's own parades, many Scottish bands parade in Ulster (chiefly in Northern Ireland and County Donegal) on or around 12 July.

Irish in Wales
Starting in the 4th century AD, Irish raiders settled Wales extensively, their impact being so great that many Irish words were introduced into the Welsh language. Many Irish emigrants came to Wales as a result of the famine of 1845–52. They were often very poor, and seen as carrying "famine fever" (typhus), but over time they acquired a notable presence—in the thousands, particularly in the Welsh coal mining towns in and around Swansea and Newport.

One of the most famous Welsh nationals of Irish-Catholic ancestry is screen actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The Irish language is taught at all levels in the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth University in West Wales, and scholarships offered to students to do intensive summer language courses in Ireland

Catholic Church
The large-scale migration of Irish people to Britain in the 19th century contributed to the reemergence of the Catholic Church in England, which ultimately accelerated tolerance for freedom of religion in the United Kingdom. Observed by the Catholic Church, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated throughout Great Britain, owing to many British people's ancestral links with Ireland as well as the general popularity of the event. Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester have particularly large parades.

Irish language
The Irish language has a long history in Britain. Gaels came to Britain between the 4th to 5th centuries and established Irish speaking communities in the west coast of Scotland that remain to this day. The waves of immigrants from Ireland that settled in British communities in the 19th century included speakers of Irish but English became the norm. However, there are regular gatherings of Irish speakers in London, Glasgow and Manchester and lessons available all over Britain including Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Manchester, Brighton, Lewisham, Hammersmith, Camden, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Cardiff. While several British universities offer a one-term-long introduction to the Irish language, the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth University in west Wales is the only university to teach the modern Irish language at all levels. Modules in Old, Middle and Early-Modern Irish are also offered, and students can receive scholarships to do intensive summer courses in Ireland.

Access to services in the language
The lack of provision for legal and citizenship services in the Irish language, including for the Life in the United Kingdom test, has been met with criticism from the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, of which the UK has ratified for the Cornish language, the Irish language, Manx Gaelic, the Scots & Ulster Scots dialects, Scottish Gaelic and the Welsh language. In a 2014 report detailing the application of the charter in the UK, the Committee were given no justification for the inequality in the treatment of Irish speakers in contrast to that of English, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh speakers, and said that efforts to rectify the inequality were non-existent.

Sport
Sports teams with links to the Irish community exist in England, although this is not as marked as in Scotland.

Football
In football, Aston Villa,  Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United have a tradition of representing the Irish communities in their area although unlike many clubs in Scotland they were not formed on the basis of representing the Irish community. For example, Arsenal has featured ethnically Irish players such as Liam Brady, Terry Neill, Pat Rice, Niall Quinn, David O'Leary and Graham Barrett. Aston Villa has featured many Irish players such as Steve Staunton, Paul McGrath, Richard Dunne and former managers David O'Leary and Martin O'Neill. Aston Villa has a large Irish following in the West Midlands which has the highest proportion of Irish people in England. Both Everton and Liverpool have roots in a Methodist church but Everton F.C. was often described as Liverpool's Irish Catholic team, probably because Everton had a number of Irish internationals in the 1950s. Liverpool F.C. was formed by a prominent Orangeman but this fact did not deter Liverpool people from a Catholic background supporting the team. Everton has notably produced Wayne Rooney who is of Irish descent and have recently featured promising Irish international Séamus Coleman; as were prominent Liverpool players who were Everton fans in their youth such as Jamie Carragher and Steve McManaman. Recently Jonjo Shelvey has become the latest in a line of Liverpool players with Irish heritage, going back to the days of Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton. Neither Liverpool nor Everton have a sectarian affiliation and many families are split in support of the clubs.

Under the management of Sir Matt Busby, Manchester United also emerged as a club with a considerable Irish following both in Great Britain and in Ireland itself, as well as having notable Irish stars like George Best, Norman Whiteside, Mal Donaghy, Denis Irwin, Roy Keane, and recently John O'Shea.

Rugby
In rugby league, Dewsbury Celtic represented the large Irish community in Dewsbury, and St. Helens represent communities on Merseyside. Wigan St Patricks amateur rugby league club is borne out of the St Patricks Catholic Church in Scholes, Wigan, that was built in 1847 after huge swathes of Irish moved to the town.

The rugby union club London Irish represents the community in London.

Gaelic Games
The British GAA is responsible for Gaelic games in Britain. There are seven GAA counties within Britain and a number of hurling, football and camogie clubs operate within each county.

Brexit
Ever since the Brexit vote in 2016, over 400,000 British persons with ties to Ireland – mainly that of Irish diaspora – applied for an Irish passport as of 2021. This phenomenon further adds on to the growing demand for Irish identity, but is also attributed to rising popularity in European Union citizenship.

Effect on the British trade union movement
In 1870, Karl Marx examined how the migration of Irish labour into the British labour market caused significant problems for the nascent English trade union movement since an over-supply of workers enabled employers to lower wages and threaten organised British workers with replacement by Irish migrants. Marx wrote in a letter that "the ordinary English worker hates the Irish worker as a competitor who lowers his standard of life", in addition to noting that "every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a working class divided into two hostile camps", consisting of the English and Irish working class.

Criminality
Perceptions of Irish immigration in Victorian Britain led to negative stereotypes. Settling in large numbers, at a time of unprecedented economic development, Irish people, and especially those living in poverty, were seen as innately criminal by elements of British society. It was even a widespread belief that Irish migrants formed the core of what were described as the "dangerous classes", and represented a threat to law and order. The Vagrancy Act 1824 was, in part, a reaction to significant levels of perceived vagrancy from Irish people "searching for generous local welfare in England".

Disease and poverty
The results of Irish migration during the 19th century were also perceived as bringing disease and poverty into urban centres, in particular cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

Health
A 2009 study published in Ethnicity & Health demonstrated that the grouping self-reported higher rates of poor general health than the White British populace. This was found to be particularly the case in Northern Ireland, for those who had designated themselves as White, and with an "Irish" national identity. In 2020, a UCL study based in NHS England data, showed that the White Irish group was around 50 per cent less at risk of death from COVID-19 than other black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. This was significantly lower than the White British group, which were 12 per cent lower than the average risk for BAME communities.

Identity
In 2015 research, University of Southampton fellow Dr Rosalind Willis explored the social fragility of the White Irish ethnicity, particularly in England where distinctions between White British and White Irish are, at times, openly denied.

In July 2019, the East Ham constituency Labour branch was criticised for its election of a white Irish woman as the women’s officer for its Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) forum. The woman in question self-identified as being an ethnic minority and no objections within the branch were raised against her election. Branch secretary, Syed Taqi Shah commented that "if somebody self-declares [as BAME], and the Labour Party allows them to do so, they should be respected."

Police discrimination
In a 1995 study, sociologist Jock Young found that of 1000 randomly selected residents of Finsbury Park when were asked if they had been stopped by the police over the past year, the White Irish population was disproportionately large with 14.3%, in contrast to 12.8% of Black Caribbean and 5.8% of White British people. The researchers found the Police tactic of "lurking and larking", whereby constables would wait outside Irish pubs and clubs to make arrests to be to blame for the high statistics, which was labelled a form of "institutional racism".

2001 Census
The 2001 UK census was the first which allowed British citizens to identify an Irish ethnicity. In all previous British censuses, figures for the Irish community were based on Irish birthplace. The percentage claiming White Irish descent in England and Wales was 1.2 per cent, with the highest concentration found in the London Borough of Brent, where they made up 6.9 per cent of the population, while the figure for Scotland was 0.98 per cent. The Irish have been the largest source of immigrants to Britain for over 200 years and as many as six million people in the UK are estimated to have at least one Irish grandparent.

2011 census
As of 2011, the highest concentration was in the London Borough of Brent where they made up 4.0 per cent of the population. This was followed by the Inner London boroughs of Islington, Hammersmith and Fulham and Camden, and the Outer London boroughs of Ealing and Harrow (all above 3.0 per cent). The highest concentration outside London was the city of Manchester, at 2.4 per cent.

Britons of Irish ancestry
See: British people of Irish descent

Explanatory notes

 * 1) The article "More Britons applying for Irish passports" states that 6 million British nationals have either an Irish grandfather or grandmother and are thus able to apply for Irish citizenship.

General and cited references

 * Gannon, Darragh. (2014) "The Rise of the Rainbow Chasers: Advanced Irish Political Nationalism in Britain, 1916–22." Éire-Ireland 49.3 (2014): 112-142. online
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Gannon, Darragh. (2014) "The Rise of the Rainbow Chasers: Advanced Irish Political Nationalism in Britain, 1916–22." Éire-Ireland 49.3 (2014): 112-142. online
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Gannon, Darragh. (2014) "The Rise of the Rainbow Chasers: Advanced Irish Political Nationalism in Britain, 1916–22." Éire-Ireland 49.3 (2014): 112-142. online
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Gannon, Darragh. (2014) "The Rise of the Rainbow Chasers: Advanced Irish Political Nationalism in Britain, 1916–22." Éire-Ireland 49.3 (2014): 112-142. online
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Gannon, Darragh. (2014) "The Rise of the Rainbow Chasers: Advanced Irish Political Nationalism in Britain, 1916–22." Éire-Ireland 49.3 (2014): 112-142. online
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * McBride, Terence. "Ribbonmen and radicals: the cultivation of Irishness and the promotion of active citizenship in mid-Victorian Glasgow." Irish Studies Review 23.1 (2015): 15-32.
 * MacRaild, Donald. (2013) "‘No Irish Need Apply’: The Origins and Persistence of a Prejudice." Labour History Review 78.3 (2013): 269-299.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.
 * Reid, Colin W. (2016) "Citizens of Nowhere: longing, belonging and exile among Irish Protestant writers in Britain, c. 1830–1970." Irish Studies Review 24.3 (2016): 255-274.

title: Irish people in Great Britain


text:
Romashkino Field

The Romashkino field (Ромашкинское нефтяное месторождение; Ромашкино нефть чыганагы) is an oil field in Leninogorsky District, southeastern Tatarstan, Russia. Discovered in 1948 by the village of Romashkino, it is the largest oil field of Volga-Ural Basin. The field is operated by Tatneft.

The field covers approximately 4200 km2. The oil deposit is lays in depth of about 1800 m in Kinovskiy and Pashiyskiy formations. Since its commissioning, the Romashkino field had produced over 15 Goilbbl of oil. Statistic analysis predicted depletion at 16.5 to 17.2 Goilbbl. However, advanced technologies allow for extraction of more oil.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Romashkino Field


text:
RFA Brambleleaf (1959)

RFA Brambleleaf (A81) was a Leaf-class tanker small tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom.

RFA Brambleleaf was built by Furness Shipbuilding Company of Stockton-on-Tees. She was launched as the civilian London Loyalty for London & Overseas Freighters in 1953 and completed on 8 January 1954. She was a sister ship of RFAUX Bayleaf (A79) built by the same shipyard for LOF the following year.

She was bareboat chartered for the RFA in 1959 and renamed RFA Brambleleaf. She was returned to her owners in 1972, who transferred her to their Mayfair Tankers subsidiary and registered her in Liberia as the Mayfair Loyalty.

On 9 September 1974 she was laid up at La Spezia, Italy. On 27 February 1976 she was sold for scrap, and demolition began in La Spezia in July of that year.

title: RFA Brambleleaf (1959)


text:
RFA Orangeleaf (A110)

RFA Orangeleaf was a Leaf-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom, and which served with the fleet for over 30 years, tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy and allied naval vessels around the world.

She was used by the RFA in the Falklands War in 1982, but she was then known as MV Balder London. From January 2003 to April 2003 Orangeleaf was deployed for Operation Telic (Op TELIC), the codename for the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq. She had three Leaf-class sisters RFA Oakleaf, RFA Brambleleaf and RFA Bayleaf and all four were originally designed as commercial tankers and underwent major conversions to bring them up to RFA standards and equip them for naval support.

She was the third Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to bear the name.

Construction
Orangeleaf was one of four ships ordered from Cammell Laird at Birkenhead by John Hudson Fuel and Shipping Ltd. (Hudson Steamship Co, Managers), Brighton, and she was laid down in 1973 as Hudson Progress. When the ordering company ran into financial difficulties the builders completed three of the ships but they were then laid up and later offered for charter or for purchase. On 12 February 1975 Hudson Progress was launched and the Lady Sponsor was Mrs J.E. Appleby, wife of Mr John Appleby, Managing Director of the Hudson Steamship Co. Ltd. She later ran builder’s trials in July 1975, but then on completion she was laid up at Birkenhead.

In June 1979 Hudson Progress was purchased by Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, London and sailed from the Mersey to the Clyde for trials. In July she was leased to Parley Augustsson (Management) AS, Oslo and renamed Balder London.

Service history
As MV Balder London, before joining the RFA, she saw action in 1982, carrying aviation fuel to the Falkland Islands from Ascension Island. At the end of the conflict, she entered the bay of San Carlos Water, East Falkland.

She was bareboat chartered on 2 May 1984 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was renamed RFA Orangeleaf. Shortly afterwards she arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall for a partial conversion. In September 1985 Orangeleaf arrived on the Tyne for full conversion which was completed and entered operational service on 2 May 1986.

On 13 June 1988 she sailed from HMNB Portsmouth as part of Task Group 318.1, the 'Outback 88' Deployment led by the Invincible-class aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (R07), along with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Fort Rosalie-class replenishment ship RFA Fort Grange and Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" RFA Olwen.

Orangeleaf saw action in the Gulf War. On 9 August 1990 she was deployed in support of the Type 42 destroyer HMS York (D98), following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and whilst on Armilla Patrol in the Gulf, when Operation Granby – the Gulf War – was approved.

Between 14 and 28 August 1992 she was deployed to support a humanitarian relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, in the West Indies, alongside the Type 42 destroyer HMS Cardiff (D108) and the Type 22 frigate HMS Campbeltown (F86).

During early-to-mid-2004, the ship took part in a deployment with a French carrier battle group, centred on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, to the Indian Ocean. She also appeared in the International Fleet Review of 2005.

On 23 October 2009, she was moved from Birkenhead dry-docks into the River Mersey and so to the Cammell Laird shipyard to continue a major refit.

In 2011, she conducted a light jackstay transfer with HMS Dragon (D35). She was decommissioned on 30 September 2015.

In late February 2016 she was towed to Aliağa, Turkey to be broken up for scrap. Leyal reported scrapping was completed by June 2016.

title: RFA Orangeleaf (A110)


text:
RFA Diligence (A132)

RFA Diligence was a forward repair ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Launched in 1981 as a support ship for North Sea oil rigs, she was chartered by the British government to support naval activities during the 1982 Falklands War and was later bought outright as a fleet maintenance vessel. She gave assistance to the damaged USS Tripoli (LPH-10) and USS Princeton (CG-59) in the 1991 Gulf War, and to Sri Lanka after the 2005 tsunami. She typically had deployments of 5-8 years in support of the Trafalgar-class submarine on duty east of Suez, with a secondary role as a mothership for British and US minesweepers in the Persian Gulf. Until 2016 Diligence was set to go out of service in 2020. However in August 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence placed an advert for the sale of RFA Diligence. As of 2016 the option for the delivery of future operational maintenance and repair capability for the RFA remained under consideration. However, the 2021 British defence white paper made no specific mention of the need for this capability. In April 2024 she arrived in Turkey for recycling.

Facilities
Diligence was designed to provide forward repair and maintenance facilities to ships and submarines operating away from their home ports, so in addition to a variety of workshops she could also provide overside electrical supplies, fuel, water and sullage reception. Diligence provided a large workshop facility for Royal Navy vessels, she was equipped with specialist machinery such as arc welding equipment, lathes, pillar drills, grinders, band saws and a large store of spares.

Diligence was the Royal Navy's primary battle damage repair unit, and was on short notice to react to developing situations worldwide. One of the key features of the ship's design was the dynamic positioning system which could keep the vessel static in poor conditions, using the ship's range of thrusters and the variable-pitch propeller.

The ship had a helicopter deck on the roof of her bridge that was large enough to support a CH-47 Chinook. The hull was built to the highest ice class specification, which allowed her to navigate polar regions without the assistance of an icebreaker.

Launch and the Falklands War
Diligence was built by Öresundsvarvet in Landskrona, Sweden and launched in 1981 as a civilian oil rig support ship. She first served the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) immediately after the Falklands War as a civilian owned ship taken up from the trade (STUFT). As MV Stena Inspector, the ship repaired many British vessels. Stena Inspector was purchased by the Government in 1983 for £25 million from Stena Offshore UK and renamed Diligence. She was sailed to the Clyde Dock Engineering facility, where she was converted and military features added, including a large workshop for hull and machinery repairs, supply facilities, accommodation, armaments and magazines and communications fits. Her Sister Ship, Stena Seaspread  had previously been a STUFT ship during the Falklands War.

Later history
Diligence provided damage repair work many times during her lifetime. At the end of the Iran–Iraq War, the Straits of Hormuz were mined, and Diligence supported the multinational minesweeping operation to clear that vital chokepoint. Diligence also helped to repair HMS Southampton (D90) after collision damage. The ship returned to the Persian Gulf in 1990 to support operations during the Gulf War by repairing, among others, two American ships damaged by mines.

In 1995, according to British reports, Diligence was confronted and illuminated by the radar of the Argentine corvette ARA Granville, which was harassing shipping near the Falklands.

During Operation Ocean Wave 97, Diligence deployed to the Far East as a submarine support ship. The following year, the ship supported 3rd Mine Counter-Measures Squadron in the Persian Gulf. Following just two weeks in the UK, Diligence departed for the south Atlantic, returning to Faslane in December 1998. Early 1999 saw the ship again deployed to the Falklands region.

2001 saw a large exercise in Oman, and Diligence supported the four MCMVs involved. The ship's next wartime assignment came with the large taskforce deployed against Iraq in 2003. Returning to familiar territory, Diligence supported the largest British fleet deployed since the Falklands War.

When the ship returned to UK in November 2006 she had the longest deployment of an RFA in recent times. From her departure from Portsmouth it was 5 and half years before she returned home to Portsmouth. In that time she has visited 25 different countries whilst steaming some 150000 mi, through the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, across the Indian Ocean to India, Sri Lanka and Singapore, the South China Sea to the Philippines and from South Africa across the Atlantic to the Falklands and South America. Many of these Oceans and countries visited 2 or 3 times.

All this work took its toll on the 25-year-old ship, and the ship was given a £16 million overhaul during 2007 at Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders in Birkenhead. Her accommodation areas, galley and engine room were all upgraded, with the intention of extending the ship's service life until the middle of the next decade. The overhaul was completed in December 2007.

A £17.6m refit was carried out from June 2012 to February 2013 ahead of a deployment to the Mediterranean and Gulf region in support of the COUGAR 13 task group. An £11m refit followed from September 2014 to February 2015, after which she was laid up at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead.

Disposal
In June 2016 the Royal Navy decided to retire the ship immediately instead of in 2020 as had previously been planned as a cost-saving measure. A Royal Navy spokesman told IHS Jane's that Diligence was considered to be "an aged singleton ship with increasing obsolescence issues", and that it was no longer cost-effective to maintain her in service. As of 2016, no replacement for the ship had been identified and the 2021 British defence white paper made no mention of the need for any such capability.

In March 2017, Diligence was towed from Birkenhead to Portsmouth where she awaited a potential buyer. In April 2023, it was revealed that the ship was to be scrapped after no suitable buyers materialised, and in March 2024 she departed the UK for the final time, under tow to a scrapyard in Turkey.

title: RFA Diligence (A132)


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RFA Argus (A135)

RFA Argus is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence under the Blue Ensign. Italian-built, Argus was formerly the container ship MV Contender Bezant. The ship was requisitioned in 1982 for service in the Falklands War and purchased outright in 1984 for a four-year conversion to an Aviation Training Ship, replacing RFA Engadine. In 1991, during the Gulf War, she was fitted with an extensive and fully functional hospital to assume the additional role of Primary Casualty Receiving Ship. In 2009, the PCRS role became the ship's primary function. Argus is due to remain in service beyond 2030. In July 2022 it was reported that the future Littoral Strike Role would be assumed by Argus after a refit to convert her to this role. As of October 2023, Argus had started her deployment to serve as part of Littoral Response Group (South) based out of the UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Oman.

In her secondary role as a primary casualty receiving ship, given she is an armed vessel and not painted in the required white with red crosses, the Geneva Convention does not permit her to be being officially classified as a hospital ship. The ship's capabilities make her ideally suited to the humanitarian aid role and she has undertaken several of these missions. The Royal Navy has occasionally described her as a "support ship/helicopter carrier".

Design and facilities
The ship was built by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda at Marghera in Italy for Contender 2 Ltd (Sea Containers, Managers) of Hamilton, Bermuda, and was launched on 28 November 1980. In May 1982, the Contender Bezant was taken-up from trade by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and given a basic conversion at HMNB Devonport to allow her to operate helicopters and Harrier jump jets in the transport role for Operation Corporate, the British military deployment to the Falkland Islands. She arrived in the area shortly after the Argentine surrender and following a refit to her original configuration, was returned to her owners in November.

Following the conflict, the MoD investigated the replacement of the small helicopter support ship RFA Engadine, commissioning Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL) make a "concept study" resulting in the decision to convert a merchant ship to operate anti-submarine helicopters and with the ability to ferry Sea Harrier aircraft. In December 1983 the MoD invited British Shipbuilders of Birkenhead and Harland and Wolff in Belfast to tender on the building of a new Air Training Ship (ATS) or to purchase and convert an existing ship along the lines proposed by VSEL. By coincidence both tenders proposed converting the laid-up Contender Bezant and in March 1984, a fixed price contract was awarded to Harland and Wolff. Accordingly, she was purchased by the company for the estimated price of £18 million on 14 March 1984. After a four-year conversion, the ship entered RFA service in 1988. Having been initially designed as a container ship, she would have been too stable when unloaded, making her motion at sea "very stiff" which resulted in a very short roll period which is not appropriate for operating helicopters. Therefore, her superstructure is deliberately heavily built (weighing some 800 tons), and she has 1,800 tons of concrete ballast carried in former hatch covers, which have been inverted to form tray-like structures.

Being a former container ship, Argus does not have a traditional aircraft carrier layout – the ship's superstructure is located forward, with a long flight deck aft. The ship has a small secondary superstructure approximately two-thirds of the way down the flight deck, containing the ship's exhaust funnel. This is used by small helicopters to simulate landing on the flight deck of a destroyer or frigate.

For the 1991 Gulf War Argus was fitted with a fully functional hospital, which has since been modified and extensively augmented with specialist equipment, providing 70 to 100 beds. The ship is equipped with an intensive-care unit, and can provide medical x-ray and CT-scan services. Casualties can be quickly transferred from the deck directly into the assessment area. Since 2009, the ship's role as a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship has been her principal role, although she continues to be used for aviation training.

In 2007 the ship was refitted with upgraded hospital facilities (replacing the forward aircraft lift with a ramp for emergency exit for hospital trollies and patients as well as two 50-man passenger lifts that lead to a new structure erected on the flight deck), generators and aviation systems (the ship had been due to receive an upgrade to its night-vision capabilities enabling the use of WAH-64 Apache helicopters) to provide an operational life (at that time) until 2020.

Argus also has the ability to refuel ships at sea, as exemplified in April 2024 when she replenished RFAUX Lyme Bay in the Indian Ocean.

1980s
As the MV Contender Bezant, following conversion the ship left Devonport on 20 May 1982 and calling at Charleston, South Carolina en route, arrived at Port William, Falkland Islands on 19 June 1982. She returned to the United Kingdom in August.

1990s
Argus entered service with the RFA in 1988, replacing RFA Engadine in the aviation training role. The ship deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 for service in the Gulf War (Operation Granby), and later provided humanitarian aid for Kurdish civilians in Operation Haven. Argus also saw service in the Adriatic in 1993 and 1999 supporting British operations in Bosnia and over Kosovo respectively. During this period, Argus operated in part as a LPH. Her unsuitability for this role was a major factor in the commissioning of HMS Ocean (L12). On 2 February 1998, three helicopters based on Argus rescued 12 members of the crew of MV Delfin Mediteraneo from their life rafts when the ship sank in the Atlantic. Normal flying had been abandoned, due to bad weather, but the rescue went ahead in 60 ft waves, earning three Air Force Crosses and six Queen's Commendations for Bravery in the Air for the aircrew.

2000s
During times of war RFA Argus could act as a floating hospital with two fully equipped wards and mortuary. The hospital was utilised in this way off the coast of Freetown in 2000–01, in support of British operations against the rebel West Side Boys.

A project to replace Argus called the Joint Casualty Treatment Ship (JCTS) was put on hold in December 2001 after passing initial approval. The Integrated Project Team (IPT) managing the project was subsequently disbanded in 2005. Argus was most recently stationed at her home port of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, though being an RFA ship means that she also uses the former naval dockyard on Portland in Dorset, England.

In 2003 Argus was deployed again to the Gulf as a Primary Casualty Reception Ship during Operation Telic. A 33 ship fleet supported a British amphibious assault of the Al-Faw Peninsula.

In 2008 she deployed to the Middle East to act as a platform for Sea King ASaC7 helicopters. On 13 July, the ships of the deployment seized 23 tonnes of narcotics in the Persian Gulf

2010s
In June 2011, Argus was operating in the Middle East around Yemen. By August she had returned to Falmouth and was filmed for the film World War Z.

In mid-May 2012 the vessel, with embarked forces from the Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm, including an embarked Super Lynx helicopter and the newly formed Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Team, set sail for North America to support potential humanitarian operations during the hurricane season. Their primary mission was to support the British Overseas Territories should they require assistance in the hurricane season as well as maintaining the constant Royal Navy presence within the wider region. Before commencing her disaster relief mission the ship engaged in multinational exercises and celebrations commemorating the War of 1812 with units from the US Navy as part of OpSail 2012.

In 2013 the ship was used for training with the AgustaWestland Wildcat, the successor to the Lynx.

In 2014 the ship participated in the annual Exercise Joint Warrior, practising Medical Evacuation and Treatment. On 8 October 2014, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced that the RFA Argus would travel to Sierra Leone to assist with the 2014 Ebola outbreak. On 30 October of the same year, the vessel docked in Sierra Leone, with three Merlin helicopters embarked. Their work of establishing shore-based medical facilities and transporting aid to outlying areas earned the ship an Admiralty Board Letter of Commendation and 167 Ebola Medals for Service in West Africa were awarded to crew members.

In mid-2017 Argus was host to four Wildcat helicopters from 825 Naval Air Squadron for initial training off the coast of Portugal which lasted for three weeks.

In June 2018, following a year-long refit, she embarked Merlin HC4 helicopters of 845 Naval Air Squadron and Wildcats of 847 NAS which practised amphibious landings in support of exercise Baltic Protector in the Baltic Sea.

2020s
In April 2020, the Royal Navy dispatched the Argus to the Caribbean region to support British Overseas Territories, if required, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. This is contrary to some previous media reports in the tabloid press, which stated that she would be deployed to London to assist with the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.

Argus had been expected to retire from service in 2024. However, in 2022 the Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin indicated that she was likely to be life extended until beyond 2030. Her functions are projected eventually to be taken over by the new Multi Role Support Ships proposed for acquisition in the 2021 defence white paper.

In March 2023, as part of her conversion to the littoral strike role, Argus was fit with a single Phalanx 20 mm close-in-weapon-system as part of her armament and conducted training with Army Air Corps Apache helicopters. In the autumn of 2023, following intensive maintenance and upgrade for her new role, the ship was expected to deploy east of Suez as the principal unit of Littoral Response Group (South).

In October 2023, Argus began a long-term deployment to the Indian Ocean region in company with the dock landing ship RFA Lyme Bay. For her deployment as part of Littoral Response Group (South), she reportedly embarked three Merlin Mk4 helicopters. It is envisaged that Argus will be based at the UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Oman. It was subsequently indicated by the Government that she was to remain, for a time, in the Eastern Mediterranean with Lyme Bay as part of a broader British regional presence given the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

In March 2024, maintenance of Argus and Lyme Bay was undertaken at the Larsen & Toubro's Kattupalli Shipyard in India. The ships, escorted by HMS Diamond (D34), had transited through the Red Sea to reach India. In April 2024, LRG(S) participated in Maritime Partnership Exercise with Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. The exercise included stealth frigate INS Sahyadri. The tasks conducted in the exercise included tactical manoeuvres, boarding ops, surface engagement against simulated asymmetric threats, cross deck visits & cross deck helo ops. In May 2024, Argus entered dry dock for additional maintenance, this time in Singapore.

In July 2024, both Argus and Lyme Bay deployed to Australia for exercise "Predators Run" which included troops from 40 Commando Royal Marines, and also involved US and Australian forces.

title: RFA Argus (A135)


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RFA Fort Austin

RFA Fort Austin is a retired British Fort Rosalie-class dry stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Fort Austin was laid down at Scott Lithgow in 1975, launched in 1978 and commissioned in 1979. These ships were designed to carry a wide range of dry stores to support fleet task forces; ammunition, food, explosives. They have extensive aviation facilities, with two flight decks, one to the stern and one spot on top of the hangar, up to four Sea Kings can be stored in the large hangar. These ships also have the capability to replenish ships at sea, via six RAS points.

Falklands War 1982
When the Falklands War began, the ship was deployed in the western Mediterranean for the annual Spring Train exercise, and received orders to head south, taking part in the landings at San Carlos Water as a stores and ammunition ship. When the order to head south was given, several warships had the WE.177A nuclear weapon deployed aboard. Amongst these were the Type 22 frigates HMS Broadsword (F88) and HMS Brilliant (F90) and the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes (R12) and HMS Invincible (R05). Some newspaper reports also named RFA Fort Austin. The Ministry of Defence explored various options to transfer these nuclear weapons from the frigates to the safety of the deep magazines aboard Fort Austin, Hermes and Invincible. An MoD publication describes a complex series of manoeuvres to avoid the presence of these nuclear warheads in areas that would break the UK obligation to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, often referred to as the Latin-America Nuclear Free Zone. In no circumstances could ships carrying nuclear weapons enter territorial waters around the Falkland Islands. After the conflict ended, weapons were transferred at sea to the two RFAs Fort Austin and Resource for transport back to the UK.

2000s
In 2000, the ship supported the British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War.

Beginning in September 2007, the ship underwent a major refit and modernization at the A&P Tyne shipyard in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear.

In July 2009, RFA Fort Austin was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Portsmouth Naval Base. Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review of October 2010 it was decided to reactivate her at the expense of the larger RFA Fort George, which would be decommissioned.

2010s
On 27 May 2011 Fort Austin left Portsmouth under tow by the Belgian tug Union Wrestler and tug Svitzer Pembroke for a £40m refit at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead. This refit was intended to keep her in service until 2021. Later that year it was announced that her service life would be extended until 2023; the Fort class will ultimately be replaced by the Fleet Solid Support element of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme.

She left Birkenhead on 5 September 2012, arriving three days later at DM Crombie in the Firth of Forth. She arrived back in Plymouth at the end of 2012 and spent early 2013 exercising in home waters.

Fort Austin formed part of the COUGAR 13 task group, providing stores, fuel, water, and ammunition Fort Austin is also participating in the 2014 IMCMEX.

In 2015, Fort Austin was again laid up, this time in Birkenhead. Despite concerns she would be decommissioned she entered Cammell Laird for refit in 2017 and it was confirmed her planned out of service date had been revised to 2024. During the course of the refit, on 15 August 2017, Fort Austin suffered a fire on the upper deck. Her 60 crew were evacuated. The damage was not considered to be serious.

2020s
In June 2020, Fort Austin was reported to be in extended readiness (reserve) with replenishment rigs not compatible with the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. The defence white paper of 2021 announced that Fort Austin, along with Fort Rosalie, was to be decommissioned, with successors from the Fleet Solid Support plan set to replace the ships.

On 31 March 2021, the ship was withdrawn from service, and placed up for sale (recycling) on 21 May 2021, however, the notice for recycling was then withdrawn and the ship was sold to Egypt together with her sister ship, Fort Rosalie. While awaiting refit, it was reported that Fort Austin would be renamed ENS Luxor.

title: RFA Fort Austin


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RFA Fort George

RFA Fort George was a combined fleet stores ship and tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and one of two Fort Victoria-class replenishment oilers.

Fort George was ordered from Swan Hunter in late 1987. The ship was laid down in 1989, launched by the wife of the Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Jock Slater in 1991 and commissioned in 1993. Along with RFA Fort Victoria, the ship was equipped with two Phalanx CIWS point defence guns during a refit at Tyne in 1999.

Operational history
In March 2000, the ship was equipped with five Westland Sea King helicopters and sent to Mozambique to help with disaster relief work following devastating floods. In May she accompanied the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R06) to Sierra Leone to support British operations to restore stability to that country. Late in the year, during a deployment in the Mediterranean, the ship helped passengers of the Greek ferry Express Samina which had run aground and sunk during a storm on 26 September.

In September 2009, Fort George, whilst working with the Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234), was involved in the largest ever drugs seizure to date by the Royal Navy, when 5.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized from a converted fishing vessel MV Cristal in the Atlantic Ocean off South America.

Disposal
Under the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010, the ship was identified for withdrawal. From March 2011 she was being stripped of stores and fittings in Liverpool, where she remained for two years. She left Liverpool on 16 January 2013 under tow destined for a Turkish ship breakers. Her sister ship, RFAUX Fort Victoria (A387), remains in service as of 2023.

title: RFA Fort George


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RFA Gold Rover

RFA Gold Rover was a Rover-class tanker small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and one of five ships that were designed by the Admiralty, all of which were built at the Swan Hunter shipyard.

Gold Rover and her sister Black Rover were the last two in service with the RFA on duty around the world. The class was phased out as part of a worldwide effort to replace single-hulled tankers with more environmentally safe double-hulled vessels. Gold Rover herself was decommissioned in a sunset ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on 6 March 2017.

Characteristics
Ships of the Rover class were predominantly used to transport fuel, oil, and aviation fuel for services around the globe; they could also carry limited dried stores of 340 t such as munitions and refrigerated goods. They were built with a flight deck large enough to accommodate two helicopters, although no hangar was fitted.

1974–1980
In July 1974, Gold Rover participated in evacuation duties during the partition of Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of the island.

1981–1990
Gold Rover was in Singapore at the time of the Falklands Conflict in 1982 and therefore took no part in the hostilities.

On 14 November 1984, Gold Rover sailed from Gibraltar on completion of refit, the last RFA to be refitted in HM Dockyard Gibraltar.

Gold Rover participated in the 1986 Jamaican flood relief operations.

On 1 December 1990, Gold Rover lost her rudder in severe weather in the South Atlantic and sent out a distress call. Some of her crew were airlifted off by a Royal Air Force Sea King helicopter of No. 78 Squadron and she managed to get to anchor 17 mi east of Lively island to ride out the storm before she was towed by the tug Oil Mariner to Montevideo for repairs. The crew of the Sea King rescue helicopter, captained by Flt Lt David Kerr-Sheppard, received various awards for outstanding flying skill in such difficult weather conditions.

1991–2000
In January 2000, she was towed back to Devonport by two RMAS tugs after breaking down off Lizard Point.

2001–2010
2006 was a busy year for Gold Rover. She was in Nigeria in June 2006 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the formation of the Nigerian Navy. As part of the celebrations there was a Fleet Review by President Olusegun Obasanjo. On 6 October she, along with Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll (F231) and Royal Marines from 40 Commando, seized more than two tonnes of cocaine during a major drugs haul off the coast of West Africa. The illegal drugs, which were found in an unregistered vessel, had a UK street value of some £60 million.

Gold Rover was part of a Royal Navy amphibious task group, the VELA Deployment 06, en route to Sierra Leone where she and other ships were taking part in a major amphibious exercise. Whilst on the way to West Africa Gold Rover was contributing to the global fight against terrorism and the Royal Navy's maritime security operations activity.

2011–2017
Gold Rover entered refit in the middle of 2013. Gold Rover departed her home port for her last operational deployment in 2014.

Between 12 and 16 October 2015 Gold Rover and HMS Lancaster (F229) participated the bicentennial anniversary commemorations of Napoleon's arrival on Saint Helena after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and subsequent surrender to British forces.

In 2015, she participated in Operation UNITAS.

Gold Rover entered Portsmouth for the final time on 22 February 2017, bowing out after 43 years of active service. On 29 August 2017 the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) invited expressions of interest from companies interested in receiving an invitation to tender with respect to the proposed sale for the sole purpose of recycling of the former RFA ship.

She was scrapped at Aliaga on 3 September 2019.

title: RFA Gold Rover


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RFA Bayleaf (A109)

RFA Bayleaf (A109) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom, which served with the fleet for 30 years, tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.

She was involved in the Falklands War in 1982, the Gulf War in 1991, and from January 2003 to April 2003 she was deployed for Operation Telic (Op TELIC), the codename for the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq. Bayleaf had three Leaf-class sisters RFA Oakleaf, RFA Brambleleaf and RFA Orangeleaf and all four were originally designed as commercial tankers and underwent major conversions to bring them up to RFA standards and equip them for naval support.

She was the third Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to bear the name.

Construction
Bayleaf was one of four ships ordered from Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in 1973, and laid down in 1975 as the Hudson Sound. When the ordering company ran into financial difficulties, the ships were laid up, and later were offered for sale or charter. The ship was finally launched on 27 October 1981, the Lady Sponsor was Mrs Angela Pritchard, the wife of Mr K Pritchard, Director General of the Naval Stores and Transport, Ministry of Defence (MoD). In January 1982 Captain A.E. Hunter, RFA, was appointed as Master and between 20 to 23 March she ran trials and when completed on 25 March she was then bareboat chartered to the MoD and renamed Bayleaf.

1980s
She was almost immediately put into active service, and sailed to Gibraltar and Ascension Island en route for service in "Operation Corporate" – the Falklands War – in company with the amphibious warfare ship HMS Intrepid (L11). She arrived in the Total Exclusion Zone on 9 June 1982, finally returning to Devonport on 31 August.

On 30 September 1982 Bayleaf sailed from HMNB Devonport in support of the Dartmouth Training Squadron's Mediterranean deployment. She arrived at Gibraltar on 4 October and then throughout the months of October and November she called at the italian city of Naples, followed by Brindisi in Southern Italy, then onto Salonika in Greece, next to Istanbul in Turkey and then the city and seaport of Trieste in Italy, before returning to the United Kingdom, arriving at Plymouth on 24 November. In December 1982 she sailed Plymouth to Liverpool and entered refit, exiting March 1983, then sailed Liverpool to Plymouth to re equip. Bayleaf spent two weeks in April undergoing Basic Operational Sea Training (BOST) at Portland and spent May in the Mediterranean taking part in Exercise “Distant Drum”. Between June and August, Bayleaf sailed from HMNB Portsmouth to Singapore and back, via Port Said and Bahrain. By the end of 1983 she was back in Gibraltar.

1990s
In January 1991 she sailed from the UK to relieve RFA Orangeleaf during "Operation Granby" – the First Gulf War.

On 1 March 1997 she collided with the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia while carrying out a replenishment at sea (RAS) off Karachi.

2000s
In 2001 Bayleaf was purchased outright by the MoD.

On 28 June 2001 she deployed to relieve Leaf-class tanker sister ship RFA Orangeleaf and was permanently based in the Gulf. During June and August she performed replenishment at sea (RAS) with various RN, HMCS, USN and other Allied ships, returning to either anchor off Dubai or berthing at Port Rashid. In September she took part in Exercise Argonaut 2001, which included Exercise Saif Sareea, together with the Invincible-class aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R06), fourteen other Royal Navy warships and the RFA’s replenishment ships RFA Fort Victoria, RFA Fort Rosalie and RFA Fort Austin, the Round Table class landing ship logistics RFA Sir Tristram, RFA Sir Bedivere, RFA Sir Percivale and RFA Sir Galahad (II), sister ship RFA Oakleaf and forward repair ship RFA Diligence.

On 5 September 2002 she provided humanitarian aid, rescuing five crew from the Guinean cargo ship MV Falcon which sank in the Indian Ocean and landed them at Dubai.

From January 2003 to April 2003 she was deployed for "Operation Telic" – the Second Gulf War. On 2 June she began refit at Singapore and on 23 June Captain Alistair Swatridge, RFA, was appointed as Commanding Officer. Over 11, 12 and 17 August, Bayleaf underwent post refit sea trials and between 8 to 10 September underwent FOST in South China Sea. Between October 2003 and April 2006 she deployed from and berthed at Dubai, Port Rashid and Jebel Ali, taking part in exercise Khunjar Hadd between 5 and 9 June 2004 and conducting replenishment at sea (RAS) with many RN, RFA, RNZN, RAN, USN and other Allied naval vessels including with the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA-4) and the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) on 19 February 2006, in the Persian Gulf. She arrived at Sembawang, Singapore, on 8 May 2006 for a refit. On 28 August Captain (X) Kim Watts, RFA, was appointed as Commanding Officer, then on 14 September she sailed out of Kepple Yard, Singapore for sea trials and then onto Sembawang, arriving 15 September 2006.

On 1 November 2008 she sailed from HMNB Devonport and entered Cammell Laird, Merseyside, three days later, for a £9.1 m refit. On 7 April 2009, Captain Charles F. Simmons, RFA, was appointed as Commanding Officer and on 5 June she sailed from Birkenhead, on completion of the refit, to HMNB Devonport. Later in June Bayleaf then sailed to Loch Striven, a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, to undertake various trials there. On 17 July Captain (X) Nigel Budd, RFA, was appointed as Commanding Officer.

In autumn 2009 Bayleaf underwent FOST at Portland and upon completion sailed to Soudha Bay, Crete, before transiting the Suez Canal arriving at Bahrain on 18 November.

2010s
In January 2010 she deployed as the Gulf Tanker, Captain S.P. Donkersly, RFA, was appointed as the new Commanding Officer on 21 April 2010 and during May, June and July she RAS’ed with many RN, RAN, USN and various other Allied naval vessels.

Following the reductions to the Royal Navy fleet outlined in the 2010 "Strategic Defence and Security Review", published in October 2010, it was decided that Bayleaf would be paid off in April 2011.

On 20 October 2010 Captain Charles F. Simmons, RFA, was appointed as Commanding Officer and Bayleaf continued with various duties until 13 February 2011 when she sailed from Dubai eventually arriving at HMNB Portsmouth on 15 April 2011.

Decommissioning and fate
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ensign was lowered for the final time on 20 April 2011 for Bayleaf, she was removed from the RFA Flotilla and a ceremony was held to commemorate all she and her crew have achieved since 1982.

LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd, a Turkish company, were awarded preferred bidder status for the disposal of the vessel in 2012. Following this, the ex-RFA Bayleaf was towed out of Portsmouth on 2 August 2012. She arrived in Aliağa, Turkey, on 22 August where the ship was broken up. On 10 December it was reported she had been dismantled and recycled, taking four months to complete.

title: RFA Bayleaf (A109)