Every Family Holds A Story

Walk through Liverpool and you'll find Irish history almost everywhere.

It's woven into the streets, the churches, the music, the football clubs and the families who have called the city home for generations. Yet many of the stories behind that shared history have never been recorded.

Liverpool Irish Stories exists to change that.

Created by The Sound Agents, the project is building an oral history archive celebrating the lives, experiences and memories of Liverpool's Irish community. It is an invitation for people to share family histories before they disappear, creating a lasting record for future generations.

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More Than A Family Tree

Every family carries its own history.

Some remember arriving from County Cork during the nineteenth century. Others speak of grandparents who crossed the Irish Sea looking for work, or of growing up in Scotland Road surrounded by neighbours who shared the same traditions, songs and stories.

These personal memories help explain how Liverpool became home to one of the largest Irish communities outside Ireland.

Building A Living Archive

The project brings together recorded interviews, photographs, family documents and community memories to create an archive shaped by the people who lived the history themselves.

Alongside the oral history programme, The Sound Agents are developing a podcast series and public exhibition, allowing those stories to reach new audiences while preserving them for future generations.

Rather than telling history from the outside, Liverpool Irish Stories places the community at the centre of its own narrative.

Every Voice Matters

Not every story belongs in a history book.

Many live around kitchen tables, in family photograph albums or in conversations that disappear when older generations pass away.

Liverpool Irish Stories recognises those memories as an essential part of the city's cultural heritage.

Whether your family arrived two centuries ago or two decades ago, every experience adds another chapter to Liverpool's continuing story.

Join The Conversation

The Sound Agents are inviting members of Liverpool's Irish community to become part of the archive.

Every interview, photograph and family memory helps create a richer understanding of the city's past while ensuring those voices remain available for future generations.

Because history survives when people choose to share it.

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