'A hundred thousand welcomes'. That's what the sign above the door at St Kentigern's Social Club in south Manchester says in Gaellic.
But regulars who have been going to the club in Fallowfield for decades - many of whom were born to Irish families - say they no longer feel welcome. "They've wiped every trace of Irish heritage," according to Mario Conway, whose father was a founding member.
Stories of the club's closure have been circulating on social media, but the Diocese of Salford, which owns it, insists they are untrue. However, one room - the vault - which was previously open to the public most nights of the week was suddenly shut this summer.
READ MORE: Today's top Manchester Evening News stories
It comes after the club's long-standing and much-loved manager left in June. The following week a sign was spotted on the door saying that the vault was closed - although the main function room remains open and is still used for a variety of weekly activities.
The Diocese says that the closure of the vault was due to a 'decline in behaviour' in recent years and denies claims that it plans to sell the club, saying that it remains a 'community resource in keeping with the mission of the church'. But some suspect there is more to it.
Soon after Kevin Fitzpatrick left, memorabilia displayed around the club allegedly started to disappear. Some of it was returned to donors when the former manager resigned, but other items - including awards which the club has won over the years - are no longer displayed, members claim.
Murals of leprechauns in the main room have been painted over, regulars at the club claim. They claim they are not getting answers as to why.
The Diocese of Salford told the Manchester Evening News that the club has been redecorated 'as would be standard in premises every few years'. Awards and memorabilia that belonged to the previous manager were removed by him before he left, the Diocese added, while the 'long-term positioning' of other items displayed in the club which have been removed 'is still being decided upon'.
Lil Luckhan, who runs bingo at the club, says those who attend weekly activities can no longer go for a drink afterwards due to the closure of the vault. But her issue isn't with the new management - it's with the Diocese who she believes is making these decisions.
"They've whitewashed the Irish out this club," she said "Literally - the walls are white now."
St Kentigern's is not the only Irish club in the city facing difficulties. Chorlton Irish Club has been closed since the lockdown of 2020. The subsequent sale of part of the car park behind the club was supposed to help trustees clear historic debts and allow it to reopen.
Plans to build 29 affordable apartments on the site off High Lane were approved last year and since then, some work has taken place at the club with £100,000 invested according to trustee Des Bailey who hopes it will eventually reopen. But the club still remains shut.
The Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill is also facing an uncertain future. The centre off Queens Road has enough money to keep operating until Easter, according to trustee Brian Kennedy, but will need grant funding and a new business model to stay afloat.
Brian, who says that rising utility bills are a big part of the centre's problem, recognises that Irish clubs do not fulfil the same role they once did for Irish immigrants. "We're fully aware that people aren't coming here," he said. "The UK isn't the first destination for the Irish."
He hopes to attract more young people who can help promote the centre and prevent it from following the fate of others in the city. "We feel for them on that side of town," he says of St Kentigerns. "There's enough of our Irish centres gone. We don't want that going."
The Fallowfield club is Ged Dolan's local. The 57-year-old says his mother would be 'turning in her grave' if she saw St Kentigern's now.
Ann Gerahty's 87-year-old uncle was one of the few regulars without Irish heritage - but she says it was a 'lifeline' for him and other elderly men. In the four months since the closure, the widower who would come and play pool at the vault, has hardly been out at all.
"Can you imagine how he's feeling now?" Ann said. "It's a big loss to him. Times that by 30."
The club, which was established in 1971, was built by members of the local Irish community - including Mario's father. The Fallowfield resident, whose son took his own life nine years ago, used to hold charity events at the club, raising money for mental health causes.
The club sponsored his son who was an aspiring boxer. The sponsored shorts he never wore have been on display at the club for years.
Mario has taken the framed shorts back now and he refuses to hold charity events at the club until the vault is reopened. But despite the deeply personal connection he has to the vault, he says he is not just fighting for that - he wants to save the Irish club's heritage.
Irish set dancing sessions are still held in the main room, but regular bookings of traditional Irish bands such as the Wolftones who play at the club annually, will not be taking place this year. The Diocese of Salford says that no booking requests have been received for these events, but confirmed that it asked the organisers of a music festival to find an alternative location, which it has now done.
"This is an Irish club," Mario said. "It was built by the Irish - my dad built it. As an Irish community, we've put so much into that place over the last 50 years. They've just wiped out the history."
A Diocese of Salford spokesperson said: "There have been a number of stories circulating on social media about the future of St Kentigern’s Parish Centre. The centre is not closing.
"At no stage has the parish or the diocese mentioned complete closure. We have just successfully recruited a new manager.
"The centre is open for a variety of activities weekly including bingo, card nights and Irish set dancing. Charities and those associated with the diaspora continue to book the centre including Irish Community Care who meet every Monday.
"We have however decided that we cannot continue to operate the Vault. In recent years we have seen a decline in behaviour surrounding the vault and it has compromised its role as a resource to the parish.
"This decision was taken following discussions with parishioners. We understand the sadness that this decision has caused but it allows the parish to focus its activities as a Church on its mission to serve the wider community.
"We did have to ask one booked event, which was a music festival to find an alternative location, which they have done. This was due to health and safety concerns regarding the size of the event and conflicting parish commitments.
"All remaining booked community activities remain in place, and we are continuing to take booking for events and family celebrations."
