{"id":19449,"date":"2025-08-24T02:20:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T02:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/19449\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T02:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T02:20:17","slug":"the-beatles-paddys-wigwam-and-lesser-known-ties-between-dublin-and-liverpool-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/19449\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beatles, Paddy\u2019s Wigwam and lesser-known ties between Dublin and Liverpool \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dublin<\/a>\u2019s inaugural Beatles<\/a> Weekend begins on Friday, celebrating not just the Fab Four\u2019s links to Ireland but also the city\u2019s deep connections with Liverpool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A twinning arrangement between Dublin and Liverpool, which has always been the most Irish of British cities, was first signed in 1997 and was reactivated earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The links between the two cities are many and stretch back hundreds of years. Here are five you may not be aware of: <\/p>\n

Music: The Beatles<\/p>\n

Three of the Fab Four had Irish roots. Paul McCartney<\/a>\u2019s mother, Mary Mohin, was the daughter of Owen Mohin, originally from Tullynamalra in north Co Monaghan. McCartney\u2019s paternal grandmother was also from an Irish family. Mary spent some of her childhood living in Ireland. In 1941, she married James McCartney, a part-time musician, factory worker and wartime firefighter. <\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Harrison and John Lennon of The Beatles while visiting Dromoland Castle during a holiday in Co Clare in March 1964. Photograph: Eric Piper\/Daily Mirror\/Mirrorpix via Getty Images <\/p>\n

McCartney\u2019s mother died from cancer when he was just 14, but she is referenced towards the end of The Beatles\u2019 run in the classic McCartney-written ballad Let It Be. He mentions \u201cMother Mary\u201d in the opening line as a tribute to his mother, though some fans see it as a nod to the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n

John Lennon<\/a>\u2018s paternal grandparents, John (Jack) Lennon and Mary Anne \u201cPolly\u201d Maguire, were born in Dublin. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe sun sets over Clew Bay, where John Lennon once owned an island named Dorinish <\/p>\n

Lennon purchased an island, Dorinish, in Clew Bay, Co Mayo, in 1967. He had always planned to build a home there and was investigating that process when he died in 1980. Locals still call the place \u201cBeatle Island\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The story of Clew Bay, from Granuaile to John LennonOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

George Harrison<\/a>\u2019s maternal grandfather, John French, was born in Co Wexford. When The Beatles played their only concerts in Dublin in 1963, several of Harrison\u2019s Irish cousins were in attendance.<\/p>\n

Religion: Paddy\u2019s Wigwam<\/p>\n

Liverpool has been the most Catholic city in England for the last 160 years. Though not all Irish are Catholics, the overwhelming number of Catholics in Liverpool are of Irish descent. In the 1840s, Liverpool was the nearest place to Ireland for those fleeing poverty and the famine. The city\u2019s population rose exponentially. By 1851, a quarter of Liverpool\u2019s residents were Catholic, a proportion that has remained steady. By contrast, the Catholic population of England as a whole is about 8 per cent. <\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolLiverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is locally nicknamed ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’. Photograph: Mike Kemp\/In Pictures via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The city, though, didn\u2019t have a Catholic cathedral until the 1960s. An earlier design by the acclaimed architect Edwin Lutyens, who also designed the Cenotaph in London and the Irish War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge, was shelved because of costs. The cathedral project was revived in the early 1960s in favour of a design that became known affectionally as Paddy\u2019s Wigwam because of the association with Irish Catholicism.<\/b><\/p>\n

Politics: Liverpool once returned an Irish nationalist MP<\/p>\n

The Liverpool Scotland constituency near the docks in north Liverpool once had such a huge Irish population that it returned a nationalist MP for 44 years. <\/p>\n

The seat was held by Thomas Power (TP) O\u2019Connor, originally from Athlone, Co Westmeath, who first stood in the constituency in 1885. <\/p>\n

\"ThomasThomas Power O’Connor, Irish Nationalist, journalist and former MP. Vintage half-tone etching circa late 19th century <\/p>\n

He held his seat even after Irish independence and was the father of the House of Commons at the time of his death in 1929 at age 81. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor was also a journalist of some renown and earned the undying admiration of songwriters, having been instrumental in the passing of a Bill through the House of Commons in 1906 that protected their copyright.<\/p>\n

Literature: The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists<\/p>\n

The literary connections between Dublin and Liverpool are reflected in the life of Dublin-born house painter Robert Noonan, better known by his nom-de-plume Robert Tressell. <\/p>\n

\"RobertRobert Tressell’s The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists was intended to be a socialist document inspired by real lives <\/p>\n

His family migrated to South Africa and then to England. He moved to Liverpool with a view to emigrating to Canada, but never got beyond the city. In 1914 he wrote the novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist<\/a>, which was a critique of the capitalist system that Tressell experienced as a house painter. The book is one of the most influential political novels published in the English language. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe James Larkin statue on O’Connell Street, Dublin, with the GPO in the background. Photograph: Frank Miller <\/p>\n

Another labour connection between Liverpool and Dublin is James Larkin<\/a>, who was born in the city\u2019s Toxteth area. He moved to Belfast in 1907, but found fame when he founded the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) in Dublin and led the Dublin Lockout of 1913. There is a plaque commemorating Larkin\u2019s birth in Liverpool <\/p>\n

Football: Former England player\u2019s grandfather fought in 1916 <\/p>\n

Peter Reid grew up as a Liverpool fan but ended up being a linchpin for city rival Everton<\/a> during a golden run in the 1980s that saw the club win two league titles, a FA Cup and the European Cup Winners\u2019 Cup. He also won 13 caps for England before a management career that included spells at Manchester City, Leeds United and Sunderland. <\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer England footballer Peter Reid’s grandfather fought in the 1916 Rising before fleeing to England. Photograph: Isabel Infantes\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

What is less well known about Reid is that his grandfather, Patrick \u201cWhacker\u201d Reid, was involved in the Easter Rising. He was stationed in Boland\u2019s Mill during the fighting. He fled to Britain and ended up in Liverpool. <\/p>\n

He spent most of his life active in trade union affairs and at the time of his death was chairman of British prime minister Harold Wilson\u2019s Huyton constituency organisation. <\/p>\n

Wilson instigated very good relations with the Irish government during the 1960s as his constituency had a very large community of Irish extraction. <\/p>\n

A Liverpool-Irish contingent took part in the Rising and were billeted in Joseph Mary Plunkett\u2019s palatial home at Larkfield, Kimmage. <\/p>\n

The Beatles Weekend takes place between Friday and Sunday with events around Dublin city. Details at Dublin.ie\/beatles<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dublin\u2019s inaugural Beatles Weekend begins on Friday, celebrating not just the Fab Four\u2019s links to Ireland but also…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[16954,52,18,117,6879,19,17,16953,16951,1009,16952,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-19449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-1916-rising","9":"tag-dublin","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-george-harrison","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-james-larkin","16":"tag-john-lennon","17":"tag-liverpool","18":"tag-paul-mccartney","19":"tag-the-beatles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}