Top award for father of the Irish Community

Ahead of St Patricts day tomorrow, a man hailed as the ‘father of the Irish Community’ in Leeds has been presented with one of the city’s top awards.

Leeds City Council’s Lord Mayor, Coun Dan Cohen, gave Tom McLoughlin MBE, manager of the Leeds Irish Centre for over 50 years, the Leeds Award. It formally recognises the achievements of people who have made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the city.

The award recognises Tom’s half century of dedicated service to the Irish Centre and his outstanding contribution to many charities and communities across West Yorkshire, where his commitment, generosity, and lifelong support have made a lasting impact.

Tom’s name is now displayed on the wall of the Leeds Civic Hall antechamber along with other Leeds Award winners such as Windrush pioneer Alford Gardner, D-Day veteran Jack Mortimer, the late novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford and ex-Leeds Rhinos Rugby League player and MND fundraiser Kevin Sinfield CBE.

Tom, who at 84 works most days at the centre, says: `It’s a great honour to be presented with the Leeds Award.

“However, I could not have achieved anything without the love and support of my wife of 60 years, Helen, my daughters Ailish and Sinead, sons-in-laws Martyn and Gary, and my dear grandchildren, Aisling, Kieran and Alannah, along with the encouragement of my very close friends Michael and May Mulligan and, of course, the true loyal members and staff of the Leeds Irish Centre.’

His loved ones and long-standing staff members watched on as the Lord Mayor described Tom as a giant’ figure who has helped shape the city. The city has shaped me and many Irish migrants families over the many decades we have settled in Leeds and Yorkshire,’ says Tom. `To me, the centre is the beating heart of our Leeds Irish community. I am proud to have been a part of it.’

Born in 1941 to Thomas, from Kiltimagh, Mayo, and Winifred McLoughlin (nee Brennan), from Midfield in the same county in Ireland, Tom moved to Leeds as a child where he was steeped in the traditions of the Irish community from a young age. His parents ran two pubs in Hunslet and Beeston and on an evening, young Tom could be found collecting glasses and singing Irish songs to the migrant diaspora.

While his parents were running a third pub in the city, Tom’s dad suddenly died. Tom was just 17 at the time and left school to support his widowed mother. Initially he went to work in an office before moving on to become a building site labourer.

It was Tom’s amazing singing talents that ensured he was invited in June 1970 to be the MC for the official opening night of the Leeds Irish Centre, the first purpose-built Irish institution of its type in the UK.

Although a regular patron of the Irish Centre from opening, it was not until October 1975 that Tom became full time manager. Tom, along with his loyal deputy manager of fifty years, Christy Power, set the values and ethos of the centre which stand firm to this day - that whatever your creed or ethnicity, you would receive a true Gaelic welcome once you set foot inside.

The values Tom set out for the centre were the ones he lived personally, taking the time to help thousands of people, from a wide range of backgrounds and communities over his five-decade tenure.

In those five decades, Tom, together with the Irish Centre’s staff and patrons helped to raise over £5 million for charity, supporting causes near and far. Charities that have benefited from Tom’s tireless fundraising include the Cardiomyopathy Association, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, The Smiley Bus, the Take Heart Appeal, The Head and Heart Appeal at LGI, the Brain Injury Trust, the Noddy Appeal, St James’ Bexley Wing Cancer Unit, Food for Kids at Christmas and Martin House, Simon on the Streets, Foodbank, and The Street Angels Club.

Centre chairman Liam Thompson described the award as a fantastic honour: It says we are part of this city. Tommy has a young mind and that’s why the centre does so well, he is always looking ahead at the next step. Tommy stands for all that’s good about the Irish community in Leeds and the county.’

One of Tom’s nominators for the Leeds Award explained: “Tom is not just a fundraiser. He is the father of the Irish community and the community of Leeds. His care, empathy and diligence have made him a leader of the people of Leeds. He is respected and known the world over. We call him the unofficial ambassador for the Yorkshire-Irish diaspora.

“Tommy has helped thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds have better lives. He hates any publicity for his countless good deeds but everyone - staff and patrons - at the centre believes Leeds should be proud to have Tommy as one of its citizens. He is a brilliant ambassador for the city.”

The Lord Mayor added: “It was a great honour to be able to present such an inspirational person as Tom McLoughlin with the Leeds Award.

“Tom has been and continues to be a fantastic ambassador for the Irish community and his selfless acts of charity, humility and community representation are an example and inspiration to us all.

“This Leeds Award is richly deserved, and we are proud to honour Tom and celebrate the contribution he has made to Leeds, while also ensuring that his story continues to be an inspiration for generations to come.”

Councillor Luke Farley, chair of the Leeds Award Committee and of Irish origin, said: It has been a tremendous privilege to play a role in honouring Tommy with the Leeds Award. Every single member of the award committee was in complete agreement that he deserved this accolade. Tommy has made an incredible impact on Leeds, being both a key representative and champion for the Irish Community, and someone who has supported fundraising efforts for charities across our city, raising millions in the process.

`I wish to pass on my personal congratulations to Tommy and to thank him for everything he has done. He is one of the people who makes a real difference and helps Leeds to be the amazing city it is.’