The growing Irish community in the twentieth century began to establish its own cultural centres and associations.
In particular, a number of organisations and venues in the city gave support to Irish music and dance. From the 1930s onwards various venues and parish clubs hosted regular céilí nights.
One such popular draw for young people within the Irish community was the Shamrock Club on Lime Street which opened in the late 1940s and held weekend céilís and dances.
In 1957 a Liverpool branch of Comhaltas Céoltoirí Eireann (Association of Irish Musicians) was established which set about promoting the performance of Irish traditional music and song through organised classes, music sessions and competitive events.
In 1964 a dedicated Irish Centre opened on Mount Pleasant which became a base for Irish dance classes, the highly successful Liverpool Céilí Band and the Comhaltas Céoltoirí Eireann branch.
Such was the strength of music and dance in the city that the Liverpool Céilí Band went on to win the All Ireland competition in 1963 and 1964 and later released two albums for the Decca label: Champions Twice (1965) and We’re off to Dublin (1966).
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